Matching Scars
by SpoonMeister13x8
Summary: After a failed suicide attempt Maka Albarn is sent to the Death City Mental Institution for Troubled Teens in order to fight off her depression and a mysterious boy with crimson eyes just might be the medicine she needed. Modern Day AU, many pairings, possible trigger warning.
1. Mental

**Matching Scars**

**Author's Note: Hey guys if you're reading this Author's Note that means that somehow I was able to catch your attention with this crappy title and summary so cookies to me :) Okay so before you start reading I just want to give you some background information on this story… I've had this idea for about a year now but I never wrote it down because I felt like the subjects this story addresses were out of my league. I felt like it would be strange to write about things that I didn't have experience with like cutting and mental diseases and suicide attempts. But then 3 months ago something awful happened. My friend Andy was the happiest kid, whenever I saw him in the hallways he would always be smiling. I remember his bone crushing hugs and how his laugh would fill an entire room and then one night, for reasons nobody will ever understand, he killed himself. No one suspected a thing and there was nothing anyone could have done to stop it. I miss him so much and I wish that I had known that when I said "see you Monday!" those would be the last things I would ever say to him. This experience was traumatizing and I hope that nobody ever has to go through this and if you have had this happen to you I'm so sorry and I know how you're feeling. Having something as heartbreaking as my friend's death happen to me I feel like I'm now qualified to write this story so here it goes. Please forgive me if there are any misspellings or grammatical errors. This one's for you Andy, I love you 3**

**Chapter 1**

**Mental**

Maka Albarn absent mindedly picked at a loose string on her sweater, tuning out her parents as they yelled back and forth at one another, arguing about whose fault it was. It was always like this for as long as she could remember. Whether they were at home or in the car, a restaurant, or at Maka's school they were always fighting and swearing at one another. The teen was sick of it.

Dr. Asuza Yumi's calculating blue eyes which sat behind a pair of sharp glasses watched the bickering couple from her desk. She took notes down on a small pad as she observed the scene in front of her. Maka saw this out of the corner of her eye and could only imagine what the renowned therapist thought of her parents. How embarrassing.

At first glance you wouldn't think that the Albarns were a family that had any problems. They lived in a pleasant home in a nice neighborhood in Southern Death City. Spirit Albarn, Maka's father, owned a car dealership. He was a good looking guy with an easy going, confident nature. He was young so he wore jeans and loose ties and he kept the top buttons of his dress shirt undone. Kami Albarn, Maka's mother, was gorgeous. She had a strong will and an intelligent mind and if you put those two things with her looks you got one of the most extraordinary lawyers around. They appeared to have it all.

But looks could be deceiving.

Maka couldn't think of a time where the two of them weren't fighting. Most children had memories of their parents playing out in the backyard with them or taking them into town for an ice cream, but not Maka. Her memories were a blur of screams, profanities and the occasional I'm-staying-at-my-parents-house-for-the-weekend-don't-call-me.

Their arguments were over the stupidest things too like who would pick Maka up from school or whose turn it was to cook that night or what movie to watch. They were just never happy around each other and Maka often thought that they would be better off getting a divorce. But when she voiced her opinion to her parents they simply smiled and told her things like, "Papa loves your Mama very much," and "Don't worry, it's just a little spat we're having." Then as if to prove that things were alright they would hug and act lovey-dovey with one another. But it never lasted more than a few minutes.

Although their arguments had always been petty and childish to Maka her father did something one day that was actually worthy of getting into a full scale fight. He cheated. He cheated right in their very own home with some hooker with dyed purple hair and huge breasts. Maka discovered the two of them on the couch one day when she had come home early from school due to a stomachache. She saw them, Kami was informed and then their already unpleasant home life escalated into a full-blown warzone.

The screaming intensified, threats were made with the big kitchen knife and both missed days of work at a time. And then, which Maka would never understand, they started taking it out on her. All of the rage her parents had towards each other was being thrown at the teen and it hurt. She didn't want to be involved; she didn't want any of this. Her parents, this life, why had this happened to her? What had she done to deserve this?

The first time she cut herself had been exhilarating. The blood and the sting of the razor as it tore into her pale skin made her feel at ease, like all of the bad feelings and thoughts were leaving her. Cutting gave her a sense of control, the physical pain she caused herself distracted her from the emotional pain inflicted by her parents. It became addictive.

This went on for a couple months. After a long day of going through the motions and her parents screams Maka would lock herself away in her bedroom and take a blade to her wrists, her arms, making neat little rows of red slashes on her body. She began wearing long shirts everyday to make sure her secret wasn't exposed. She couldn't risk her parents finding out. They would try to make her stop; they would try to take away the one thing in her life that kept her from going insane.

But one day the cutting wasn't enough.

She had it all planned out, her escape from her miserable existence. The ten little white sleeping pills she had lined up neatly on the upstairs bathroom counter would be her salvation. She would take them Saturday night while her father was out at Chupa Cabra's and her mother was out to dinner with a client. It would have been perfect, those ten little pills would have ended her pain and misery but just as Maka swallowed the fourth one her mother walked in and the teen was immediately taken to the hospital. When she was discharged a day or two later the Albarn "family" headed to Dr. Yumi's to see what was to be done with Maka. However, the therapy session that was meant to get Maka help once again ended up becoming a nuclear screaming match.

Spirit had risen from his chair and was now shaking a finger in his wife's face. Kami spat curses at him left and right, challenging him to come any closer. Maka continued to ignore them, however, although the teen was choosing to take no notice of the fight Dr. Yumi wasn't going to put up with it any longer. She slammed her notepad down on her desk and clapped her hands at them to get their attention.

"Honestly do you two ever stop screaming at one another?" she demanded to know, the glass of her spectacles gleaming with anger. "This isn't about you two right now, this is about your daughter and how she almost killed herself the other day."

Spirit and Kami looked at her in surprise. No one had ever called them out on their fighting like that before. Suddenly feeling embarrassed by their actions Spirit slowly sat back down in his chair and Kami smoothed out her skirt and took great interest in the floor.

"Thank you for choosing to act like adults," Dr. Yumi said icily, not believing how two grown people could behave like children during such a serious time. "Now," she said turning to Maka, "let's talk about why you're here today. What made you want to take those pills?"

Maka wasn't paying attention. She was too zoned out, too focused on blocking out the screams she hadn't realized stopped. Dr. Yumi clapped her hands in front of the teen's face and suddenly Maka snapped back into reality to find that all of the adults in the room had their eyes on her. She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable under their watchful gazes. "Did you say something?" she asked Dr. Yumi quietly.

The Doctor was patient and repeated her question, "What made you want to take those pills?"

Maka stared at Dr. Yumi who was looking at her with such concern. _'What made you want to take those pills?' _She wanted to tell the doctor, she wanted to let everything that she had kept bottled up inside of her for months poor out. _Because I hate my life, because I'm sick of my parents treating me like shit, because I wanted to die._

"I don't know…" she whispered, looking down at her hands.

Dr. Yumi nodded and drummed her fingers on the top of her desk. She knew what was going on; she was the best therapist in all of Death City after all. The look Maka had in her eyes after she had asked that question, she looked like she desperately wanted to confess everything, to have someone that would listen to her. The only problem was that her parents were in the room. She had learned over the years that some patients could be unwilling to speak if family members were present for the fear of hurting them. "Could the two of you give us a minute?" Dr. Yumi asked Mr. and Mrs. Albarn.

Spirit and Kami reluctantly stood from their seats, uneasy in knowing that their daughter might possibly reveal something to the doctor that they wouldn't ever get to hear themselves. They lingered by the chairs a moment more hoping that they wouldn't really have to step out of the room but when Dr. Yumi pointed them towards the door they finally left leaving the doctor alone with Maka.

"I hope you feel better with them out of the room," Dr. Yumi said giving Maka a gentle smile.

The teen weakly returned it and nodded.

Dr. Yumi pushed her glasses higher up her nose ready to get down to business. "Now can you tell me why you tried to kill yourself?"

It was strange for Maka to be discussing her feelings like this with someone. These things were personal and no one had ever cared enough to ask her about them before. No one had ever cared enough to help her be okay. So right now talking with Dr. Yumi she felt like she was choking on her words because she wasn't used to having anyone show worry for her wellbeing. "B-because I hate my life," she finally managed to get out.

"What makes your life so bad?" Dr. Yumi asked.

"My parents…they fight all the time and yell at me."

"Is it just your parents? No trouble with school?"

"I have straight A's."

"What about your friends?"

"I don't have any."

"Do you self harm?"

"….I cut."

"Where?"

"My arms and my wrists."

"Why do you do it?"

"Because I can control it."

"Do your parents know?"

"They don't know anything about me."

Dr. Yumi's professional face turned into something of sympathy towards the teen as she nodded and scribbled something down on her notepad. She then opened up one of her desk drawers and pulled out a single pamphlet. "Here," she said handing it to Maka.

"The Death City Mental Institution for Troubled Teens?" Maka read aloud, unsure of why Dr. Yumi had handed her this.

"Go on and take a look at it," Dr. Yumi encouraged her.

Maka curiously leafed through the booklet, her emerald eyes passing over pictures of smiling teenagers eating lunch together and playing basketball. "Why did you give me this?"

"This is where you'll be staying for the next two weeks, Maka," Dr. Yumi answered. "Based on our session just now and earlier seeing how your parents interact with one another and how you interact with them I feel like sending you here will be the most successful way in getting you treated."

"Treated?" Her eyes widened tremendously and she quickly dropped the pamphlet onto Dr. Yumi's desk. "Oh no you've got it wrong," Maka said shaking her head. "I don't need to be treated for anything, I'm perfectly normal. It's my parents' fault I took the pills; they're the ones who should be sent away."

"Anytime someone tries to take their life something must be done," Dr. Yumi explained. "You might have took the pills because your parents made you feel like your life wasn't worth living, but the decision to kill yourself was entirely your own _not_ theirs. Signing you up for the Troubled Teens program is the best way to get you the help you need and as for your parents, well, I'm making sure that they see a marriage counselor as soon as possible."

"I don't want to go to a nuthouse!" Maka protested.

Dr. Yumi was used to clients reacting this way when psychiatric hospitals were brought up. Everybody went into panic saying that they didn't belong in a place like that so she knew just how to handle Maka. "It's not a nuthouse; the teenagers there are just like you. They're just normal kids who've hit a roadblock in life and they're getting treated so they can get around it. All my patients who I have sent there have come out feeling as good as new and you won't be any different," she calmly replied.

"I haven't hit a roadblock though, it's just my parents. If they were gone I would be perfectly fine, I don't want to join this program!" the teen argued.

Dr. Yumi sighed; Maka was quite the determined teenage girl and the only way to get someone like her to corporate was to get her parental units involved, even if she despised them they still had legal control over her after all. The doctor stood from her chair and went over to the door to let Mr. and Mrs. Albarn back in the room. As soon as the door swung open Spirit stormed right back inside followed by Kami, both wanting immediately to know what they had missed.

"Is Maka going to be alright?" Kami asked.

"What did you talk about with my daughter?" Spirit inquired anxiously.

Dr. Yumi picked up the booklet Maka had dropped on her desk and handed it to them. "I've decided to send Maka to this Juvenile Ward so she can partake in this program. Based on her current condition I feel like this is the best way to help her get her life back on track," she told the Albarns.

Spirit and Kami flipped through the brochure together, both intently reading about the Troubled Teens program. Once they had finished Kami hesitantly asked, "are you sure this is what's best for our daughter?"

"Yeah," Spirit joined in. He was mortified that Dr. Yumi had suggested such a treatment. What if someone found out that someone in his family had been labeled as mental? It could be bad for his business. "I don't like the idea of sending Maka away to stay with a bunch of wacky psycho teens. We can fix things ourselves."

"Can you really?" Dr. Yumi asked them coolly. "You're telling me that the two of you are going to undo all the damage you've caused?"

Mr. and Mrs. Albarn stared at her blankly, their mouths slightly open.

"Don't play dumb," the doctor threatened. "We all know that it's nobody's fault but yours that Maka is like this. All of this fighting she's grown up with, all this anger she's constantly surrounded by. Your child is so unhappy that she almost killed herself and there's no one to blame but yourselves."

Needless to say the Spirit and Kami were speechless.

"I personally know a lot of the people who run this program," Dr. Yumi continued on. "They're all highly trained professionals and I promise you that after two weeks with them Maka will be as good as new. Now are you going to deny your daughter the help she needs because you're embarrassed to send her to a psychiatric hospital or are you going to do what's right?"

There was a moment's pause until Kami finally broke the silence and said, "You're right. I know that I haven't exactly been an ideal mother lately with everything that's been going on recently but I actually do care about my daughter's wellbeing and I want to help her in any way I can. When can we send her?"

Dr. Yumi smiled, "Tomorrow morning. I'll call the hospital after you leave and let them know that you're signing Maka up."

"You can't be serious," Maka griped. This was all wrong; her parents should be the ones being sent away!

"Maka, your Mama is right," Spirit interjected. "She hasn't been a very good Mama lately –" He paused when Kami glared daggers at him. "Erm we _both_ haven't been very good parents and we're sorry. But maybe Dr. Yumi is right and this program is what you need. I want you to get back on the right track so whether you like it or not we're sending you to the Death City Mental Institution."

Maka wanted to argue more but she didn't have a chance because Dr. Yumi then said, "Also, while Maka's away, I suggest that the two of you go see a marriage counselor. No matter how much help Maka gets from the Troubled Teens program the treatment will never work unless things at home get better."

There was a long pause at the mention of a marriage counselor. Spirit and Kami were both too proud to admit that they needed couples counseling. They didn't like the idea of some stranger discussing their relationship problems with them but eventually they gave in to the doctor's request. "We understand," Spirit and Kami answered, standing up from their seats and heading towards the door.

Maka however didn't move. She sat motionless and expressionless in her chair, she hadn't even noticed that her parents had gotten up.

"Come along, Maka," Kami said to her daughter, bringing her out of her daydream.

The teen sullenly rose from her chair and followed her parents out the door without speaking a word towards them or even a goodbye to Dr. Yumi.

The three Albarns walked back to their car in silence, Spirit and Kami awkwardly glancing at Maka every so often wanting to say something to her but not knowing which words to use and Maka replaying everything that had happened in Dr. Yumi's office over in her head. This wasn't right, her parents just thought they could "apologize" and everything would be okay again? Nothing would ever be okay again, never. She was being sent away to a hospital for mentally ill teenagers, how had her life gotten so fucked up? She wasn't mental, she was normal. She repeated this over and over in her head trying to convince herself that this was true.

I'm normal.

I'm normal.

I'm normal.

I'm normal.

I'm normal.

.

.

.

.

.

But am I really?

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please tell me what you think and if I should continue! **


	2. We're All Mad Here

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 2**

**We're All Mad Here**

Maka wore a vacant expression; her forest green eyes glassy as she stared out the window of her father's Porsche watching the scenery roll by. It hadn't been an hour since her parents had forced her into the backseat of their car to take her to the Mental Institution, but to the teen it felt like years. And in all that time not once had she spoken to either her mother or her father. They had tried to talk to her of course, but after seven failed attempts to start a conversation, Spirit and Kami finally gave up and decided to let Maka sulk. And that was just fine with her; Maka had no intention of talking to her parents for a long time, she was too disgusted to even look at them for more than a few seconds.

She absolutely hated the way they had acted last night at Dr. Yumi's; pretending to be good parents by saying that they cared about her. If they actually cared then they would've fixed things a long time ago and she wouldn't be on her way to a psych ward. Everything was so messed up. Why was she the one being sent away? It wasn't her fault, everybody knew it too. True she took the pills all on her own but it was her parents who drove her there. Dr. Yumi should've sent them to the institution instead because like hell they would ever go see a marriage counselor.

With a melancholy sigh she turned away from the window and fished her iPod out of her bag. After untangling the headphones she plugged up her ears, blocking out all possible sounds and secluding herself to her own little world. She put it on shuffle mode and leaning her head back against the seat she shut her eyes and let the music lull her to sleep.

**All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces Bright and early for their daily races Going nowhere, going nowhere**

_Maka didn't know how she had gotten there but for some reason she was standing alone in the center of a room. She wasn't complaining though, it was a very pretty, relaxing space that she found herself in. The furniture was a mix of contemporary and retro styles but somehow they worked well with one another and didn't clash. Towards the back wall two plush couches decorated with pillows sat facing each other, a coffee table placed between them. Warm sunlight streamed through the tall picture windows and gave the honey colored walls a cozy glow. Suddenly Maka realized that this room wasn't new to her at all, it was no other than her own living room. Just then her parents whirled in like a hurricane, disrupting the peaceful atmosphere. They were screaming like always and Maka let out an annoyed sigh._

"_You're a useless man!" Kami spat venomously. _

"_What did you call me, bitch!" Spirit roared. _

_Maka took a seat on one of the couches and watched them argue. Like always they didn't even realize their daughter was present. _

**Their tears are fillin' up their glasses No expression, no expression Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow No tomorrow, no tomorrow**

_The fighting escalated to the point where things were being thrown at each other. Maka observed this with impassiveness; it had already been done before, nothing new to her. Still, she couldn't help but feel like something was breaking inside of her._

_She stood from the couch and stepped between her parents. Fed up with the hostility they always showed towards one another. "Stop it please," she said to them. She meant to sound strong and commanding but her voice was barely above a whisper. _

_They ignored her, they hadn't heard her measly cry for a peace treaty. She said it again louder this time and even pulled at her parent's arms, hoping that making contact with them would make them acknowledge her. But it didn't work. When Maka reached out to touch them her hand passed right through their bodies._

_They were solid and she was translucent. It was such a shock to her that Maka unconsciously backed up until she hit into a picture stand knocking over a bunch of frames. The teen bent down to pick them up and what she saw was just as shocking as when she discovered she was see-through. The pictures she had knocked over were all family photos taken over the holidays from Christmas to Easter and Maka was missing from every single one of them, completely erased. It was like she didn't exist. And maybe in her parent's worlds she didn't. _

**And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dyin' Are the best I've ever had**

_Suddenly the honey colored paint on the walls began to peel away in strips revealing ugly decaying wood underneath. The couches began to rip open, stuffing spilling out and her parent's faces in the fallen pictures shifted into demonic looking creatures. The power went out trapping them in darkness and the glass in the windows shattered. The screaming grew louder and inhuman, earsplitting and unbearable. Maka curled up into a ball on the floor and covered her ears, begging her parents to stop although she knew they couldn't hear her. Her arms and wrists suddenly felt warm and sticky. She rolled up her sleeves and discovered that all of her cuts and scars had reopened and were oozing blood. _

"_Ahhhhh!" she shrieked in horror._

**I find it hard to tell you 'Cause I find it hard to take When people run in circles It's a very, very ****Mad world Mad world**

"Maka!"

Maka jolted awake, yanking her earbuds out in the process. Her breathing was uneven and her heart was beating at double speed. Quickly she checked her wrists and arms and let out a sigh of relief when she found that she wasn't covered in blood.

"Maka, you fell asleep," Kami told her.

Maka didn't say anything to her, but was secretly relieved that her mother still knew who she was. _'That was such creepy dream,'_ Maka thought, shaking her head as she put her IPod away.

"Oh and we're here," Spirit informed her.

Maka snapped her head up and looking out the window found that her father had already parked the Porsche in the hospital's parking lot. She realized that they had been waiting there ever since for her to wake up. How long had she been asleep for?

Spirit and Kami exited the vehicle and began to unload Maka's things from the trunk. All last night once they had returned home from Dr. Yumi's Maka's mother had raided her closet and packed her suitcases with enough clothes to last her a year. Though about half the outfits Kami deemed good clothes for Maka to take to the hospital with her she couldn't even wear. Tank tops and short sleeved shirts; they wouldn't cover her ugly, self-inflicted scars. But Maka didn't say anything; her parents didn't know that she cut herself. She just simply wouldn't wear those certain clothes while she was away at the mental ward, problem solved. When all of Maka's luggage had finally been taken out of the Porsche the Albarns locked up their car and set off across the parking lot. Spirit in the lead followed by Kami and then Maka trailing far behind them as they approached the looming building that was the Death City Mental Institution for Troubled Teens.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The inside of the building was much more welcoming than the outside. The outside was a towering mass of washed out bricks that looked like it was going to swallow you whole when you stood next to it. The landscape and shrubbery that surrounded it looked like it hadn't been maintained in ages; plants were drooping or already dead. A large sign over to the side of the building that once read THE DEATH CITY MENTAL INSTITUTION FOR TROULBED TEENS had faded over the years so that letters and entire words were missing. And the metal bars that were put over the glass windows made the place look even seedier. But the inside was warm, friendly and smelled faintly of vanilla. This surprised the Albarns when they first walked in, they were expecting the hospital's interior to be similar to its exterior but instead they opened the front doors and found themselves in a gleaming lobby with a pretty receptionist seated at the front desk.

Sprit put down the suitcase he had being holding, pushed his hair back and waltzed over to the front desk giving the receptionist a flirtatious smile. "Hi we're the Albarns, Dr. Azusa Yumi made an appointment for us," he said smoothly.

Kami scowled, Maka rolled her eyes and the girl blushed as she checked her computer and said, "Ah yes you're right on time." She then stood up from her desk and began to walk down a long hallway that was right off the side of the lobby and motioned for the Albarns to follow her.

They passed a lot of closed doors as they went further down the corridor and the friendly air that the lobby had didn't transition to this part of the hospital. As they moved deeper inside of the building it took on a more institutional feeling and Maka felt like she was in school.

"These doors are only storage rooms," the receptionist told them, noticing that they were looking at the doors. "We just keep supplies and medicine down here, its nicer upstairs where the patients are kept don't worry."

They finally reached the end of the hallway where a grand staircase and a women that appeared to be in her late twenties with big caramel eyes and wavy blonde hair stood waiting for them. "Hello I'm Marie Mjolnir," the women greeted them pleasantly. "I'm the girl's therapist for the fifteen to sixteen year old age group on the third floor." She politely shook hands with Spirit and Kami then turned to the teen with a bright smile and said, "You must be Maka, Azusa called me last night to inform me of your arrival. She told me that you were a little nervous to come here but don't worry we're like a big happy family and I know that if you give it some time you'll feel right at home."

Maka frowned, insulted that this women was saying that she would feel at home surrounded by a bunch of mental teenagers, but she didn't say anything. Marie waited for a response but after a few moments of awkward silence she realized that the teen wasn't going to answer her so she decided to ease the tension by announcing that she would be taking them on a tour of the hospital. At these words the receptionist disappeared to go back to her desk leaving the therapist and the Albarns alone.

"Alright," Marie began chirpily, "as you already know from just walking down the hallway the first floor is only consists of a storage area and the lobby." She then pointed to a sign that was hung up on the wall next to the staircase that read

**Ages 13-14 Second Floor**

**Ages 15-16 Third Floor**

**Ages 17-19 Fourth Floor**

"We keep the patients on the upper floors and where they stay is based on age. We feel that it's more comfortable for them if they are kept that way," she explained as she began mounting the stairs. "Azusa emailed me Maka's files after she called the other day so I already know her age."

"So she'll be staying on the third floor then?" Kami asked as she and her family followed Marie up the stairs.

They reached a landing with a single door to its side that read **13-14 containment**. Marie didn't even glance at it and kept walking to the next level. "Yes and since that's the only floor that concerns Maka that's the only floor we'll be touring," she answered as they all arrived at a second landing. The door to the side of the second landing read **15-16 containment** so without further ado Marie smiled and swung it open.

The third floor was really something. When you first walked in you were standing in a spacious area with relaxing green walls and polished floors that the overhead light fixtures gleamed off of. Over to the right side there was an arrangement of comfy couches and chairs which a few patients sat on, either reading books or talking with one another. To the left there was a counter manned by a nurse who was keeping an eye on the patients across from her. The space had a friendly and calm feeling to it much like the lobby had.

"This is the front room where we check in our new patients and where they can come to sit and relax," Marie said as she led them through the room and down a hallway that had colorful art projects patients had made decorating the walls. "This is the art and music room," Marie guided, gesturing to an open door that revealed patients sitting at tables with one another painting and drawing. "The patients are free to come here whenever they want but there is a mandatory session once a day," Marie told them.

As they continued to descend down the corridor they passed the rec room, the t.v. room, the disappointingly small library and after turning a corner they found themselves at the cafeterias entrance. "Each floor has its own dining hall," Marie explained. "We believe that the patients should eat with their own age group too."

They didn't get to take a look inside of the cafeteria because Marie said the chefs were busy preparing for the next meal so instead their little tour group headed down another wing that would supposedly bring them back to the front room where they would be able to check Maka in much to her displeasure. The new hallway they were traveling down was where the bedrooms were. "The third floor staff sleeps on this level just in case a patient needs one of us at night," Marie said. "So these first couple of rooms belong to us." The doors to the staff member's rooms were painted a plain white but as they moved down the hallway an assortment of colorful and decorative doors came into view.

"What is this?" Kami asked, her eyes widening as they passed a curious looking door with an enormous giraffe on it that read LIZ AND PATTI the name Patti looking like a kindergartener had written it.

Marie laughed, "Oh we let each of the patients customize their doors. It makes them feel more at home when they're allowed to personalize a part of the hospital."

The rest of the walk down the bedroom hallway was an interesting one as Maka and her parents examined each of the patients doors, trying to get a feel of what some of the other teenagers were like. There was a pale pink one with carefully painted camellia blossoms on it that belonged to a girl named Tsubaki and a door decorated with butterflies and number eights that would have been perfectly symmetrical if there wasn't the neat print at the top that read KID. One door was painted an electric blue with golden stars glued to it, a messy signature Maka made out to be BlackStar going across the middle. Just as Blackstar's door was flashy the door next to it was plain. It was still painted its original white color; the only thing that had been added was a little scribble on the bottom corner that read CRONA.

They continued to pass a variety of customized doors, different paintings and decorations adorning each of them. They were all rather average looking, nothing really standing out to Maka, but then, just as the tour group was about to exit the hall they went by a door Maka thought was unlike any of the others. It was peculiar but entrancing and you couldn't help but get lost in it. Painted piano keys that started at the bottom of the door and curved up the left side into spiral, the keys breaking apart from one another the higher they got. The background paint behind the piano design was checkerboard black and blood red and in the corners there were little gothic style swirling patterns. Maka was so captivated by this door that she hadn't realized that Marie had her parents had already left the corridor. She just continued to stare at it, mesmerized by its eeriness and haunting beauty and that's when she noticed a name tucked away in the top corner so that it was almost hidden.

"_Soul,"_ Maka whispered to herself. _'I wonder what kind of person they are.'_

A voice suddenly called out to her, bringing her out of her daze. Maka turned to where the noise had come from and found that Marie and her parents were standing at the end of the hall waving her over. Maka blinked, she hadn't realized she had fallen that far in back of the group. With one last look at the mysterious door she sprinted over to them, Soul's name still lingering on the tip of her tongue.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"So this is where we check in Maka right?" Kami asked Marie as the tour group returned to the front room.

Marie nodded and led the Albarns over to the long counter where the nurse they passed by earlier sat. "This is Mira Nygus our head nurse," Marie introduced. "She's in charge of checking the patients in."

Mira was dark skinned and had dreadlocks pulled up into a high ponytail that swished as she stood from her seat and came around from behind the counter to shake hands with Maka's parents. "Nice to meet you and please just call me Nygus," she said. "Now please put your daughter's luggage up on the counter and fill out these forms," she instructed as she reached over the counter and pulled out a stack of crisp white papers.

Spirit and Kami did as they were told and traded Maka's baggage for the paperwork. Nygus then began to go through Maka's things as Mr. and Mrs. Albarn answered important questions about their child. Maka watched as the head nurse began shifting clothes around and unzipping pockets, almost dying of embarrassment when she started looking over her barely A cup, still considered training bras.

"Do you _have_ to look through my stuff?" Maka muttered, crossing her arms over her flat chest.

The four adults looked over at her in surprise; those were the first words Maka had spoken since arriving to the hospital. "Yes, some of the things that people pack can be used to harm oneself or another. It's just a safety precaution we have to take," Nygus explained as she removed shoelaces, neckties, and a shaving razor from Maka's bags. She then took away the teen's iPod and cell phone, "you'll get these back after your stay, we don't allow patients to have any technology. Oh and also you'll have to remove that tie you're wearing."

Maka frowned but pulled loose her green and white striped tie and handed it to Nygus. The head nurse thanked her then turned to Spirit and Kami who were done filling out the paperwork.

"This really is a nice place," Spirit complemented as he handed Nygus his and Kami's sheets. "From the looks of the outside we thought the inside would be just as much as a dump."

"Ah well it's an old building," Nygus told them. "We're planning to get it renovated soon so that it will look more appealing."

"But putting aside the outside of the hospital's looks," Kami began, "after going on this tour and seeing everything I think that this place will really be able to help Maka."

Marie smiled at her, "thank you, we're looking forward to getting to know your daughter; we'll take good care of her."

"We know you will," Spirit said. He then turned to Maka and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "make sure to call us on the hospital's phone since they took your cell."

"We'll come to visit soon," said Kami, pulling Maka in for a hug that she didn't return.

Her parents said a few more goodbyes all of which the teen disregarded and then left the third floor leaving her alone with Marie and Nygus. Maka shifted her weight onto one foot, feeling awkward in the presence of these two strange adults. She didn't say anything though; she planned on speaking as little as possible during her stay here. Maka wanted to make it obvious that she didn't want to be at the hospital nor did she belong.

Marie was the one to break the silence. "Come with me I'll take you to your room," she said to Maka.

Marie and Maka traveled down the bedroom hall passing all the personalized doors they had seen earlier until they came to a stop at the camellia blossom one that read TSUBAKI. "I hope you don't mind that you're going to have to share a room. Usually everyone gets their own but we're kind of filled right now," Marie apologized. "Nygus and I paired you up with Tsubaki because we have a feeling that the two of you will get along," she said as she knocked twice on the pink door.

It slowly opened up and there in the doorway stood a tall girl with long raven hair put up in a ponytail. "Hi, Miss Marie," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hi, Tsubaki, do you mind if a new patient and I come inside?" Marie asked.

Tsubaki shook her head and opened the door up wider, "no, come in."

The room was small and painted a soothing blue color. Two beds were pressed up against the corners of a wall, separate dressers across sat from them and a shared night stand stood between them. A single window was located on the far wall. Tsubaki sat down on a bed Maka assumed belonged to her because it looked like someone had recently slept in it and Marie and Maka took a seat on the one across from her. Once everyone was settled Marie announced, "This is Maka and she's going to be your new roommate. There weren't enough single rooms so someone had to double and based on both of your records it seemed that you would be the best possible match for one another. This is okay with you right?"

Tsubaki smiled at both of them, "Of course, I'm fine with sharing a room."

Marie beamed, "wonderful! Oh and she took a tour of the facility earlier but do you mind just sticking by her side and helping her settle in until she gets the hang of things?"

Tsubaki nodded, "sure that's –"

A loud smashing noise and a shriek cut her off. Marie immediately stood up and went to the doorway. "What was that?" she called out down the hallway.

"BlackStar broke another window!" a male's voice shouted back.

"Are you serious?" Marie let out a sigh. "I have to go girls. Maka, I'll give you your schedule today at lunch and I'll have someone bring your bags to your room later," she said before slipping out of the room and into the hall.

There was a silence between the two girls. Maka still not wanting to talk to anybody, determined to prove to everyone that her admittance into the hospital was a mistake. But after a few more moments of just sitting there saying nothing her curiosity got the best of her and she asked, "Who's Blackstar?"

"Oh he's this boy who suffers from superiority complex," Tsubaki answered.

Maka suddenly remembered passing BlackStar's door in the hallway, the showy blue one with all of the golden stars. "Oh so he's an egotistical douchebag?"

Tsubaki laughed softly and looked down at her hands, "yeah sometimes. He thinks he's destined to surpass god and gets really angry and violent if you disagree but he's actually really nice."

Maka could have sworn that Tsubaki just blushed but she didn't ask about it. "What's everyone else like?" she asked instead.

"Um well Kid's really OCD," she began. "He had this obsession with symmetry and completely loses it if something isn't symmetrical. Liz and Patti are sisters; Liz is in for an eating disorder and Patti's here because she's kind of psychotic. There's this kid named Crona who've I've never seen before because he never leaves his room even for meals and group activities so I don't know what he's in for but there's a rumor going around that he's got pink hair. I'm here for anxiety and well you know there's a bunch of other people I could tell you about right now but it's almost lunch time so why don't we just go and meet them instead?"

**Author's Note: Hey guys thank you so much for all the reviews and follows and alerts! I wasn't expecting the first chapter to get such a great response I'm so happy that you all liked it and I hope you enjoy chapter two just as much! Oh and the song I used at the beginning of this chapter is called Mad World by Gary Jules. I've always found the melody and lyrics very haunting and eerie and I just **_**had**_** to use it considering the chapter's name and all. If you know it awesome but if you don't you should check it out :) See ya next chapter! *puts on invisibility cloak and vanishes* **


	3. The oddities of the back table

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 3**

**The oddities of the back table**

Tsubaki and Maka ventured to the dining hall, shortly arriving at their destination being that the walk was right around the corner. During those twenty or so steps it took to reach the eatery the two girls conversed in small talk and Maka decided that she liked Tsubaki. Even though her being here was a mistake and she wasn't planning on talking much Maka allowed herself to make an ally. Tsubaki would be the person she could rely on during her stay at the loony bin. Maka supposed it was the taller girl's eyes that made her trust her. They were a shade of blue that hadn't seen hate or sorrow, they were pure and filled with kindness and as Maka looked into them she doubted why Tsubaki was even at the hospital. She had said that she was plagued with anxiety but Maka saw no traces of it as the two of them chatted on their way to lunch.

"Welcome to the mess hall, home of your breakfast, lunch and dinner," Tsubaki presented to Maka once they had arrived, swinging open the doors that stood between them and their food and ushering the shorter girl inside.

The dining hall had tiled walls and a linoleum floor that reminded Maka a great deal of her school cafeteria. Over to one side of the room there was a long counter that had kids lined up at it, they moved their trays down the countertop selecting their meals one by one as chefs stood on the other side and supervised. Circular tables were scattered all around the room, chairs either tucked underneath them or occupied by patients eating their lunch.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat," Tsubaki said as she started off towards the food line.

Maka followed the taller girl over to the food counter and picked up a tray. The two girls then started down the line, looking over the different meal options. Maka had actually been waiting for this moment; the moment she would determine if the hospital food was edible or not. She had low expectations to start out with but as she locked her eyes on the first choice her expectations dropped even lower.

"What _is_ that?" Maka asked, crinkling her nose. She didn't even know what she was looking at; it was crusty and brown and had this dark aura floating around it that just screamed food poisoning. _'Please don't let all the food be like this,' _she mentally begged.

"Oh that's the meatloaf," Tsubaki laughed as she grabbed an apple and a sandwich for her lunch. "They have it every day as a choice for lunch and dinner but no one ever eats it."

"I can see why," Maka said weakly as she slid her tray past it, hoping she would never have to look at something that repulsive again.

Tsubaki laughed again and reassured her, "Don't worry the rest of the food is actually really good."

Maka continued to slide her tray down the counter and Tsubaki patiently waited for her until she finally selected a meal of chicken fingers and a salad. Once the girls had gotten their food Tsubaki pointed over to a table in the far corner of the room. "That's where my friends and I sit," Tsubaki told Maka, already starting to walk over. "Everyone's really nice so I'm sure there'll be no problems with you joining the group."

Even though Tsubaki was so sincere sounding Maka couldn't help but have doubts. What if Tsubaki's friends didn't like her? Would the dark haired girl ditch her if she wasn't able to fit in? _'Well of course I'm not going to fit in,'_ Maka said to herself as she trailed behind her roommate. _'They're all weirdoes and I'm normal. But then again Tsubaki gets along with them and she seems pretty normal...' _

Tsubaki's table consisted of three people. There was a very thin girl with long dirty blonde hair that looked like she belonged in a teen fashion magazine. A younger looking girl with short blonde hair and big blue eyes and a well dressed boy with strange hair that was black but had three white stripes on one side of his bangs. They were all talking with one another and laughing. They seemed totally normal (minus the guy's odd hair color), like they were eating in a school cafeteria instead of a hospital one. The boy had just said something that made the super blonde girl burst out into a fit of laughter when Tsubaki and Maka approached them, making their presence known.

"Hi guys," Tsubaki greeted, setting her tray down in an empty spot at the table. With her now free hands she gestured to her roommate and introduced, "This is Maka, she just came to the hospital today and she's going to be sharing a room with me."

"Um hi," Maka said shyly, putting her tray down besides Tsubaki's and giving a small wave.

"Hiya, I'm Patti!" chirped the blonde girl, smiling with all her teeth.

With a flip of her hair the model like teen spoke, "Hey, I'm Liz."

The boy with the unusual hair then stood up from his seat and extended his hand out to Maka. "Hi, I'm Kid," he greeted her with a small grin. "Welcome aboard."

Maka hesitantly shook it, "aboard what exactly?"

"Aboard the group, the gang, whatever you want to call it –" he paused for a moment, suddenly looking at Maka with great distress.

Maka instantly let go of his hand in alarm. "W-What's wrong?" _'Is he going to attack me or something?'_

"Your pigtails," he started, slowly reaching out to run his fingers through Maka's ash blonde hair which she always kept tied up in twin tails. "One is higher than the other, please let me fix them," he pleaded. He sounded so desperate that it was like the whole world would crash and burn if he didn't fix them.

"Um…okay," Maka agreed, weirded out by Kid's request. All of a sudden she remembered what Tsubaki had told her earlier; the one called Kid was obsessed with symmetry. She then looked over towards the two girls who had identified themselves as Liz and Patti. '_They're sisters if I remember correctly,'_ Maka thought. _'Liz has an eating disorder? No wonder she's super thin. And the younger one Patti…Tsubaki said she was psycho or something but she doesn't look that dangerous…' _

Kid sat Maka down in an empty chair and immediately started redoing her pigtails. "Sorry about him, he's kind of a freak," Liz apologized for her friend's behavior.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Maka told her although she was a little uneasy about her current situation.

"Cute outfit by the way," Liz complemented. "I really like the whole school girl thing you've got going on."

Maka looked down at her clothes, surprised that a seeming knowledgeable about fashion person such as Liz liked her wardrobe. Back home at her school Maka's plaid skirts, long white button downs and sweater vests always got lost in a sea of tube tops and high heels. She was at the top of her class and with all the studying she had to do there really wasn't any time for her to keep up with the new styles and look trendy. She didn't mind though, she liked the clothes she wore and hearing a girl like Liz praise her for them Maka couldn't help but give a small smile.

"There," Kid said once he had finished retying Maka's pigtails. "That's much better."

"You're hopeless," Liz sighed as Kid sat back down in his seat.

"The only thing that's hopeless is how you people fail to see that symmetry is everything," Kid replied coolly as he began to rearrange the food on his tray so that it would be even on both sides.

Maka stared at him in question, wondering how somebody could have such bad OCD. _'It must be awful to go through life and not be able to focus on anything unless it's symmetrical,' _she thought as she ate her lunch.

Once Kid had successfully fixed his food the five teens began to chat with one another. It was kind of nice actually, eating lunch with a group of people and talking. Maka had almost forgotten that these weren't regular teens and that she was in a mental hospital until Patti asked through a mouthful of pudding, "So what's wrong with you?"

Silence fell over the table. Liz shot her sister a look and Maka felt her cheeks heat up. "There's nothing wrong with me…," Maka answered quietly.

"Well there must be, you're here aren't you?" Patti waved her spoon around, gesturing to the entire room.

"So um does anybody know what the group activity is today?" Tsubaki changed the subject, sensing Maka's discomfort.

"Not sure," said Kid, also noticing that the newbie had become a bit unnerved by Patti's question. "A game maybe?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," said a female voice, joining in the conversation.

The entire table turned to see that Nygus was standing behind them.

"Hi," everyone greeted her.

"What's up?" asked Kid.

"Oh nothing much, I just came by to check in on how Maka was doing," the head nurse replied as she walked around the table. She suddenly stopped behind Liz and looked over the teen's shoulder examining her tray. "You need to eat more than that, Liz," she said, eyeing the teen's half eaten apple disapprovingly.

"I'm not hungry," was Liz's response.

Nygus frowned, "Finish your apple; I'm going to get you a sandwich."

The head nurse left to go to the food line and once she was out of earshot Liz groaned, "I'm sick of her telling me what I have to eat."

"It's her job," Kid said as he cut his chicken perfectly down the middle.

Patti suddenly squealed with delight, pointing excitedly to a heap of mashed potatoes on her tray that had been sculpted into a lumpy, white giraffe. "Look what I just made!" she bubbled, tugging on Liz's sleeve.

"That's nice, Patti, but you shouldn't play with your food," Liz scolded her lightly, removing her sister's hand from her clothing.

"That's all you have to say to her!?" Kid shouted at Liz. "Can't you see that its ears aren't even symmetrical!?" He frantically reached across the table and began to remold the mashed potato ears so that they would be equal lengths.

"What's going on here?" Nygus asked, she had come back with Liz's sandwich and was now looking at the scene in front of her with raised eyebrows.

"Patti didn't make that giraffe symmetrical!" Kid accused.

"Kid, the world's not going to end if Patti's art work isn't the same on one side," Nygus said calmly. _'How many times has she had to deal with this?' _Maka wondered.

"But it's _unbalanced_!" Kid whined, slamming his fist down on the table.

"Kid, why don't you come eat your lunch at my desk?" Nygus said, picking his tray up.

Kid sighed and stood up from his chair, "fine."

Nygus smiled, satisfied that she had calmed him down, and then after saying goodbye to the girls walked Kid out of the dining hall.

"Is it always like this?" Maka asked Tsubaki once Kid and Nygus had left.

The raven haired teen laughed and brushed her inky bangs back out of her face, "pretty much."

There wasn't even a moment's pause when all of a sudden a teenage boy appeared out of nowhere and jumped up onto the tabletop. He was dressed in clothes that the "cool" boys in Maka's school wore and he had hair more unusual than Kid's; it was an aqua blue color that stuck up on his head in five points like a star. Both of his hands were occupied by lunch trays piled high with food, he was holding them high in the air above his head. "Yahoo!" he shouted. "The great BlackStar has arrived at lunch; you can start eating now that I'm here!"

"We've already started eating, dipshit, now get off the table," Liz rolled her eyes.

But BlackStar ignored her and instead erupted into laughter, only stopping when Tsubaki reached out and gently touched his pants leg.

"BlackStar, please sit down," she asked him nicely. "We don't want any of the staff coming over and getting us in trouble.

BlackStar smiled at Tsubaki and hopped down off the table, sticking his tongue out at Liz as he did so. After setting both of his trays down and taking a seat next to Tsubaki he started to bang his head against the tabletop while he groaned, "This sucks."

"What's wrong?" Tsubaki asked him, her voice full of concern.

"I was only allowed to take two lunch trays today instead of three as punishment for breaking that window," BlackStar complained.

Patty laughed and pointed at him and Liz said, "Serves you right, why'd you do it though?"

"Nygus was saying a bunch of crap about how I would never surpass god because I was just a human," BlackStar told them, the way he said it sounding like it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

"You are a human, idiot," Liz muttered under her breath so that BlackStar wouldn't hear her.

"I'm just so pissed," BlackStar continued on. "They're depriving me of food!"

"You can have some of my lunch if you want?" Tsubaki offered, pushing her tray towards the blue haired boy.

"Don't waste your food, Tsubaki," said Liz, sliding the tray back to her before BlackStar could get to it. "The little glutton can have this," she said, throwing the sandwich Nygus had given her to the boy.

BlackStar caught it easily. "Sweet!" he grinned, already starting to unwrap it. He was just about to take the first bite when suddenly his eyes fell on Maka. He dropped the sandwich and jumped up from his seat. "Who's this?" he exclaimed, pointing at Maka excitedly.

"That's Maka, she's my new roommate," Tsubaki told him.

BlackStar leaned across the table getting right up in Maka's face. "Hi! I didn't even notice you!"

Maka inched away from him, trying to get her personal space back. "Could you back away please?" she asked, uncomfortable that this strange boy was almost touching the tips of their noses together.

"Oh sorry!" BlackStar apologized, sitting back down in his seat. "The great me just got carried away at seeing a newbie that's all."

"How did you not realize that Maka was sitting here until now?" Liz asked him exasperated.

"I guess my presence as a star outshone her," he shrugged, returning his attention back to the sandwich like it wasn't a big deal that he just completely overlooked Maka's existence.

Maka scowled, she had known this kid for about five minutes and she had already decided that he was one of the most irritable people she had ever met. She thought he was extremely rude; not being aware that she was sitting at the table and then saying that he hadn't noticed her because he was too good for her. She knew that Tsubaki said that if you looked past his ego and gave him a chance he could actually be a nice guy but it was kind of hard to do that when he was ravenously digging into a bunch of food, shredding it apart while making carnivorous noises.

Maka felt a bit nauseous watching BlackStar devour everything so quickly. She suddenly wanted to go back to her room and lay down, to close her eyes and pretend that none of this was actually happening. She stood from her seat and asked Tsubaki, "Can I leave the dining hall at any time?"

Tsubaki nodded, "yeah, do you want to go?"

She snuck another glance at BlackStar and felt her stomach churn. "Yes please."

Tsubaki stood from the table and said to the group, "we're going to go back to our room, see you guys later."

"Have fun," BlackStar said with his mouth full.

"Bye," Liz and Patti chorused, Liz speaking it and Patti singing.

Tsubaki and Maka left the table and after throwing away their trays in the trash bin exited the dining hall and came face to face with Marie.

"Oh hi girls I was just about to go inside to give this to you," said Marie, holding out a piece of paper to Maka. "This is the schedule you'll be following while you're here. If you have any questions I'm sure Tsubaki would be more than willing to help you out."

Maka took the schedule from her without a word.

"Are you alright? It's a bit early to be leaving lunch," Marie said.

"Maka just wants to go back to the room and relax that's all," Tsubaki answered, speaking for Maka.

Marie nodded, "Okay, take care of her, Tsubaki."

"I will," the dark haired girl promised.

And with that the therapist and the teens parted ways.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO **

As soon as Maka reached the safety of her bedroom she threw her schedule on the floor and collapsed upon her bed with a groan and screamed into her pillow. She felt so angry and frustrated with everybody around her and also with herself. This was a complete disaster; it was so awful it couldn't be real. She wasn't actually in a mental institution was she? All of those kids she had just met didn't really exist did they? Maka began to feel an itch, a familiar itch that only a razor could satisfy. She would cut and forget, she would ease the pain she felt by covering her already damaged skin with new wounds. But then she remembered that the head nurse had taken her blade earlier that day and that thought was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

The teen felt the mattress shift and looking up from her pillow she found that Tsubaki had taken a seat on the edge of her bed. "Are you okay?" she asked. Her voice was so heartfelt that even though Maka wanted to snap at her to get rid of some of her anger she just couldn't.

"Not really," she answered as she wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand.

"This isn't about the gang is it? I know that they come on a bit strong, BlackStar especially. I hope that they didn't make you feel uncomfortable," Tsubaki apologized.

"Well they did," Maka said, turning away from her roommate. "It isn't just them though, it's everything. I'm not a troubled teen, I don't belong here."

"You want to go home then?" Tsubaki asked.

"I'm not sure… home is just as bad."

There was a long silence between them until Tsubaki put her hand on Maka's shoulder and said in a gentle voice, "I know it's hard. Everybody and I mean _everybody_ felt like this on their first day. Everybody is unsure and feels like they don't belong; everybody gives an attitude to the staff and thinks the other kids are beneath them. Everybody cries and everybody denies that what's happening to them is real but you have to give it a chance."

Maka sat upright hugging her pillow, "…give what a chance?"

"The program," said Tsubaki, standing up from the bed and picking up the schedule Maka had thrown. "The adults are really helpful and they actually care about us, and Marie is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet and it's sad to see that you won't even talk to her. And as for the kids, well even though they're in a place like this they're still just regular people. Talk to them like you would talk to your friends at home."

"That's kind of hard to do considering I don't have friends back home," said Maka glumly.

"Well that makes two of us," Tsubaki said with a small laugh.

"Seriously?" Maka asked in disbelief. She thought that a girl as pretty and as kind as Tsubaki would have tons of people to hang out with.

"Yeah, no one wanted to be friends with the anxiety girl who stuttered all the time and was hardly noticeable," Tsubaki told her.

"You seem to have gotten a lot better," Maka mused.

"I told you, this program really helps. I've been here for about two months and I've improved so much I'm going to be discharged soon… So you really don't have anyone?

Maka shook her head, "no."

"Well would you like to be friends with me?" Tsubaki asked with a smile.

Maka looked at Tsubaki, her kind blue eyes were shining with the hope that she would say yes. "I'd like that," Maka said, nodding her head.

"Great!" Tsubaki beamed. "Now you can't say that you don't have any friends." She sat back down on the bed next to Maka and handed her the schedule, "Now let's take a look at this shall we?"

**Wakeup call at 7:00**

**Breakfast at 8:00**

**Free time from 9:00-11:00**

**Arts and Crafts at 11:00**

**Lunch at 12:00**

**Free time at 1:00**

**Outside Rec at 2:00**

**Group Session at 3:00**

**Free time at 4:00-6:00**

**Dinner at 6:00**

**Free time from 7:00-9:00**

**Curfew at 9:00**

**Lights Out at 10:00**

"Everyone's schedules are the same, the only thing that's different for each patient is when they have private therapy sessions," Tsubaki explained.

Maka examined the paper once more and frowned, "I don't see anything on here about private therapy sessions though."

"You and the therapist decide together at what time the two of you will meet but the first session is always at some random time," Tsubaki told her as she looked over the schedule again as well. She then pointed to the bottom corner of the paper where it read in Marie's handwriting PRIVATE THERAPY SESSION TODAY AT 1:00. "Look I found it," said Tsubaki happily.

"Oh no," Maka panicked, jumping up from the bed. "This isn't good."

"What? What's wrong?" Tsubaki asked, a bit taken back by the blonde's sudden outburst.

"Its 1:15 now!" she exclaimed, pointing at a clock that hung on the wall. "I'm late!"

"Well go!" Tsubaki ordered, springing up off the bed and herding Maka out the door. Watching as her roommate sprinted down the hallway trying to find a room she didn't know the location of.

**Author's Note: Wow…okay so I was reading through chapters one and two the other day and I found a HUGE amount of spelling mistakes. Guys I apologize for my inability to spell, I suck*falls on the floor and cries* Anyways despite the fact that I can't type correctly I hope you liked chapter 3! The reviews that I have been getting are amazing and I thank you all for your support! *throws you all cookies* Also I just wanted to say that I will update when I update. School is starting soon and my parents are crazy about the internet and there's a whole bunch of other things going on. The latest you'll ever have to wait is 2 or 3 weeks, hey at least I don't take years *curses all the amazing fics that never ever update* See you all soon and hopefully we'll be seeing Soul soon as well!**


	4. The lies movies tell about therapists

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 4**

**The lies movies tell you about therapists **

"You're late," Marie stated, peering up from her cup of coffee to observe the panting teenage girl who had burst into her office only moments ago.

Maka was doubled over in the doorway trying to catch her breath; she had just run around the entire facility searching for this specific room. She had left at 1:15 and had been dashing around the third floor for a good 10 minutes. She would have found Marie's office quicker if she had only asked for directions but being the new teen in the program she was still shy and didn't feel comfortable talking and being guided by the strange people that she encountered in the hallways. By the time she arrived Maka was 25 minutes behind schedule for her private therapy session. "I'm sorry," she apologized in-between gasps for air. "I left my room late and then I couldn't find your office and –"

"It's no big deal," Marie cut her off with a small chuckle. "It's only your first day so no worries."

Maka sucked in another breath of air and nodded, taking in her surroundings as she did so.

Marie's office was neat and tidy. Everything from the papers on her desk to the books on the shelves had been sorted and ordered by size and color and framed pictures of her college diplomas hung proudly on the wall. Personal touches had been added to the room like the cinnamon scented candle that resided in the far corner and a throw rug that rested beneath the patient's chair. Photos of Marie and some of the teenagers from past years posing in different locations around the hospital were also being displayed on one of the shelves.

"You can take a seat right there," Marie instructed Maka to sit down in the leather patient's chair in front of her desk.

The teen sat as she was told to and began to fiddle with the hem of her skirt, wondering what was in store for her and what they would talk about. Maka was assuming that this session would be different from the time she went to go talk to Dr. Yumi. That therapist was very down to business and kind of harsh once she thought about it but Marie was giving off a vibe that this meeting was going to be laid back and friendly. But just because Marie was supposedly as Tsubaki had said "one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet" didn't mean she was going to spill everything to her right away. She had made that mistake with Dr. Yumi and look where she had gotten sent. No, this time would be different. She would give Marie a chance for Tsubaki but she wasn't going to talk to her about anything serious just yet because god forbid Marie decided to send her to a place even more rock bottom than the Troubled Teens program.

"How do you like the food?" Marie started off the session by asking.

Maka blinked; she had been expecting a more in depth question, questions like Dr. Yumi had asked her. "It's alright I guess….the meatloaf is kind of gross looking though."

Marie laughed and nodded, "I honestly don't know why we still serve it, it's just awful. So anyways moving on, do you think you could tell me a bit about yourself, Maka?"

"Well… I'm an honors student at South High," the teen told her shyly. "I'm at the top of my class."

"That's wonderful! Something to be really proud of" Marie beamed. "Which class is your favorite?"

"English," Maka answered without hesitation. "I love to read and I write poetry sometimes…"

"Ooh poetry! Do you think you could share one of your poems with me sometime?" Marie asked, her eyes practically sparkling.

Maka blushed and shook her head no. She had never shown her work to anybody before, mostly because of the fact that she had no one to show it to but just the thought of someone reading her innermost thoughts and feelings embarrassed her.

"That's alright you don't have to," Marie told her kindly. She was so understanding and sweet, a lot different from Dr. Yumi Maka thought as she compared the two therapists with one another. "Do you plan on doing something English related in the future?" Marie then asked.

"I think… it would be fun to be an author," Maka told the therapist. "Anything that involves books would be a perfect job for me."

"You're a real bookworm huh?" Marie mused.

Maka smiled softly, "I suppose I am…" The teen suddenly paused and quirked an eyebrow at Marie, "Why are we talking about these kinds of things?"

"What do you mean?" Marie inquired.

"Aren't therapists supposed to ask questions like 'how do you feel about that?'" Maka questioned.

Marie laughed, "That's just a stereotype seen in movies."

"Well that's along the lines of what Dr. Yumi and I talked about, not this kind of stuff," Maka told her.

"I do things a little bit differently than Azusa," Marie explained. "Azusa has a very professional approach to her job and likes getting right into things, but I prefer to get to know the person I'm working with before we discuss their problems."

"I get what you're saying," Maka nodded. "But wait...don't you think it's unfair?"

"What's unfair?"

"You're going to learn things about me but I'm not going to get to learn things about you? I want to know who I'm talking with just as much as you do," Maka said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You really are smart, Maka," Marie praised. "None of my patients have ever brought that up before; well then, what would you like to know about me?"

Maka thought carefully. "Are you married?"

Marie literally smacked her head against her desk and groaned a pitiful no and the session continued on from there. In the 20 minutes the two of them had left together Maka listened as Marie told her about herself and about how she could never find a steady guy and Marie listened to the teen talk about her favorite authors and fictional characters. Towards the end of their meeting some guy came into the office to bring Marie some more coffee which she politely declined.

"That's Joe Buttataki our coffee and errand guy," Marie told Maka once he had left. "He's one of my ex's."

"Your ex works with you?" Maka asked with wide eyes, imagining how uncomfortable that must be for her therapist.

"A few of my ex's work here," Marie confessed, further shocking her patient.

They continued to talk and before the teen left Marie pulled out a glass jar filled with peppermints and offered one to Maka. "Hmm alright so…Tsubaki has an afternoon appointment and Liz, Patti and a few other girls have night sessions so I guess that means I'll have to squeeze you in in the morning. Does 9:00 right after breakfast sound like a good time for us to meet?"

"Yeah that's fine," Maka agreed to the time as she popped the mint into her mouth.

Marie smiled, "Thank you for speaking with me today, Maka."

"You're welcome…um so where do I go now?" She had left her schedule with Tsubaki by accident and had forgotten where she was supposed to go after her session had ended.

"Well right now everyone should be on their way to outside rec," Marie told her.

A distasteful expression appeared on the teen's face, she had always hated participating in outdoor activities, especially sporting events. "Do I have to go?" she asked, hoping Marie would be kind enough to let her stay inside where she felt more comfortable.

"Yes it's a requirement," Marie replied much to Maka's disappointment.

"Do you think I could skip just for today?" the teen tried to change the therapist's mind.

Marie sighed, giving in to the request. "Alright but only because it's your first day, for the rest of your stay here I'm expecting you to attend."

"Thank you, Marie," Maka smiled.

Marie smiled back, happy that she was getting Maka to open up to her and that she was leaving her office on a pleasant note. "No problem."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Once Maka had left the office she replayed the session over in her head. Tsubaki had been right; Marie was so caring, open minded and real. Even though Marie was supposed to be the one giving Maka advice on how to get better she still had issues of her own and wasn't perfect. It gave Maka hope knowing that even the people who were counseling her had problems too and it made her feel less alone.

The hallways were silent; the only noise that could be heard was the soft clicking of Maka's boots against the tile floor. The staff and the patients had all gone outside leaving behind a peaceful, still atmosphere. It was nice to be alone Maka thought as she tried to find her way back to the small library that she had passed by earlier that day. She planned on picking up some books to take back to her room to read but as good as that plan sounded it couldn't be accomplished because the teen had gotten herself completely lost. When she went on the tour with her parents and Marie the place didn't seem so hard to navigate but when she was on her own the third floor turned into a maze. She thought about retracing her steps to Marie's office to ask her for help when suddenly she heard a strange melody drift down from a corridor.

She turned an ear towards the music. _'That's weird; everyone should be outside shouldn't they?'_ Maka thought. The teen began to walk in the direction of the song, '_I'll just follow this music and it will lead me to someone who can show me where the books are.'_

At first the music was just acting as a guide for Maka but as the teen walked on further and listened more carefully it turned into an eerie lement unlike anything she had ever heard before, being composed by an instrument no other than a piano. With every key the mysterious player hit shivers shot up Maka's spine, but no matter how creepy or frightening the sound was she couldn't help but keep moving towards it.

She soon found herself heading down the hallway where the art and music room was located and before she knew it she was standing in the doorway of the room where the melancholy tune was coming from. The room was completely deserted except for the single soul that was sitting at the piano in the back corner, and it would be a lie to say that Maka wasn't shocked. The person playing this haunting melody was a teenage boy about her age with white gravity defying hair. She didn't believe it, the piece was so advanced it couldn't be played by someone like him could it? She had been expecting one of the staff members to be in here not a teenage guy. How could someone so young master an instrument that took some people ages to learn? But despite his youth the boy's tanned hands skillfully moved over the keys with such grace and passion, so absorbed in his playing that he didn't even notice that Maka was watching him in awe.

Maka was just staring at him with admiration of his incredible playing; she was so impressed that a few minutes of her watching him had gone by before she remembered what she had come here to do. She was about to walk over to him and ask him for directions to the library when she clumsily tripped over her own two feet and was sent crashing to the floor.

The playing abruptly stopped with a sharp note and the boy swiftly rose from the piano bench to face his intruder. Crimson eyes glared at Maka, "who are you?"

**Author's Note: AHHHH! MY COMPUTER KEEPS GLITCHING! I'M SO SCARED! Thankfully I was able to put this chapter up with no problems :) Anyways Summer is almost over, well for me at least, and that means back to school :p But even though I shall be busy with things I swear I will not forget you guys! You readers are what get me through school and life and other crappy things. You guys are like my secret weapon and together we battle evil! Mawahaha! Ummm sorry for this really strange author's note. I hope you liked chapter 4 and chapter 5 will be coming soon.**

**Soul: It's about goddamn time I made my appearance in this thing**

**Me: Shhh go eat some ramen and be happy I'm even putting you in the story**

**Soul: What are you talking about? Your story is tagged Soul/Maka you **_**HAVE**_** to put me in it**

**BlackStar: I think**_** I**_** should be the main character**

**Me: Stfu BlackStar. Byeeee guys!**


	5. Soul

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 5**

**Soul **

"Who are you?" the strange white haired boy demanded to know.

Maka hurriedly stood up from where she lay crumpled on the floor, mentally cursing herself for being clumsy and making a bad first impression. "I um I'm really sorry," she babbled an awkward apology as she smoothed down her wrinkled skirt and brushed the dirt off her sleeves.

"I didn't ask if you were sorry I asked you who you were," he said in an annoyed tone as he walked over to her from the piano.

Now that he was closer Maka was able to get a better look at him. He was about her height, maybe an inch or two taller, and was dressed casually in a sweatshirt and jeans. His snowy hair was swept to the side of his face and contrasted with his tan skin. Blood red orbs met her two green ones with a droopy, aloof gaze which confused Maka a bit, how could they look so passionate a moment ago when he had been playing and now be completely apathetic?

"Um I'm Maka Albarn," she introduced herself warily, still taking in the boy's odd appearance. _'Seriously why do all of the guys here have such weird hair?'_ she thought.

"Are you new?" he asked, looking her up and down. He was checking her out just as she had done to him.

She nodded shyly.

"Figures," he said, stuffing his hands into his sweatshirt pockets.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively._ 'What did he mean by that? Does this guy have something against new patients?'_

"Why aren't you at outside rec with the other kids?" he inquired, completely ignoring her question.

"Don't just change the subject like that!" Maka snapped. _'What's this guy's problem? Is he here for stupid jerk disease or something?'_

"I just did, so why aren't you with the others?" he asked again.

Maka huffed; this guy was clearly not going to answer her question. "I got permission to stay inside… why are you here?"

"I didn't feel like going out," he shrugged.

"You can't just break the rules like that," scolded Maka, going into honors student/ teacher's pet mode.

"Oh yeah? Why not?" he asked her rather amused.

"Well because they're rules," Maka said as if it were obvious.

"Following the rules isn't for cool guys like me."

"You're not cool," Maka scoffed.

"A girl who dresses like a total nerd shouldn't be the one telling me if I'm cool or not," he retorted.

"Whatever, I didn't come here to argue with you–"

"Yeah you came here to interrupt my playing," he cut her off.

"No," Maka gritted her teeth. "I _came_ here to ask for directions."

"To where? The library?" he raised a brow.

"Yes actually," Maka flushed.

He chuckled, revealing two rows of pointed teeth that made Maka unconsciously take a step back. "You look smart but you can't even find your way to the library, sad…" he shook his head.

"Oh shut up it's only my first day! Can you just tell me where to go?" she asked impatiently.

"You have to ask nicer than that," he told her in a sing song voice.

"Fine," she let out an exasperated sigh. "Can you_ please _tell me where to go?"

"It's down this hallway a couple doors away."

"Thank you," Maka said curtly, spinning on her heels to walk out the door. Now that she had the directions she needed she was more than happy to leave the white haired boy's presence. He had gotten her all wound up with his teasing and sarcasm; Maka had never wanted to hit somebody so badly with a dictionary. And to make matters worse she had only taken about five steps down the hallway when he stepped out of the music room and called out to her,

"See ya around tiny tits!"

She scowled at the mention of her nonexistent breasts. "My name's Maka."

"Yeah yeah whatever," he waved it off.

"Speaking of names don't I get to know yours?" she asked him.

He laughed; it was a deep and throaty sound. "Are you sure you want to know who I am?"

"Well that's why I asked you, dummy," she said sassily, putting her hands on her hips.

He grinned at her gesture, his sharp teeth gleaming. "It's Soul."

_Soul._

Maka blinked but when she had opened her eyes he was already gone.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka lay on her new bed reading a book she had picked up from the library. Well, she wasn't reading it exactly; it was more like she was absently mindedly staring at the same paragraph for the past hour. She just couldn't concentrate, her thoughts kept flashing back to Soul.

The piano prodigy she had just met and had spoken to for less than five minutes was the one with the peculiar door that had caught her interest in the hallway. His appearance was something else too; white hair, ruby red eyes and shark like teeth, he seemed too unusual even for a mental patient. Maka rolled over on the bed, giving up on her reading and staring up at the ceiling in thought. What was Soul in for? It was obvious to see what was wrong with some of the kids that went here, like Liz who was stick thin and Kid who had to prefect everything he came into contact with. But Soul was hard to place. That cool demeanor of his and attitude…well, Maka just didn't know….

"Maka, are you in here?" Tsubaki called out, suddenly swinging open their door and interrupting the blonde's train of thought.

"Yeah I'm here," she answered her roommate, sitting up on the bed.

The tall girl walked over to Maka, wiping her forehead which was glistening with sweat from the outdoor activities she had recently preformed. "Good because I couldn't find you. How come you didn't come to rec?"

"Marie said I could stay inside…"

"Oh okay, oh yeah how did your session with her go?" Tsubaki asked, flopping down on her bed.

"Well she's really nice just like you said..."

"I'm glad you're warming up to her…hey are you okay?" The raven haired girl propped herself up on her elbow. "You seem a bit spacey."

"Tsubaki, what can you tell me about that boy named Soul?" Maka blurted out, not able to keep the subject of her thoughts to herself anymore.

"You met Soul?"

"Yeah while you guys were outside I found him playing the piano," Maka told her.

"Really? You're so lucky!" she exclaimed. "I hear he's an amazing player but he won't show any of us anything."

"Why not?" Maka asked a little too quickly.

"Well he says it's because the things he plays are personal and he doesn't want to share that kind of stuff with us," Tsubaki explained.

"Oh..." Maka now understood why he had been so mad at her when she had stumbled (literally) into the room. She had walked in on him while he was expressing his feelings, things that he wanted to keep to himself. She suddenly felt guilty.

"He's been here longer than anybody so he doesn't really follow the schedule," Tsubaki continued on. "He just kind of goes where he wants when he wants to."

"Is that why he wasn't at lunch today?"

"Yeah he was probably doing something else and didn't feel like eating," Tsubaki said as she stood up from her bed.

"Where are you going?" Maka asked, standing up as well.

"It's time for group session," Tsubaki told her, walking out the door. "Come on."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Soul wasn't at the group session. Marie and Sid Barett, a muscular, dark skinned man who was the boy's therapist, herded dozens of troubled teens into the group therapy room but the white haired boy was not among them. Maka didn't understand how Soul could just go and do whatever he wanted while everyone else was on a strict schedule. Did he get special treatment or something? Just because he was here the longest out of everybody didn't mean he could have special rights could he?

Maka took a seat in-between Tsubaki and Patti; the chairs in the room had been arranged in a circle so that everybody could be facing one another. There were about twenty teens at the session in total; Maka recognized some of them from lunch like Kid, Liz and ugh Blackstar but the rest were strangers.

"Alright," Marie said smiling, stepping into the center of the circle with Sid. "We have a new patient that just joined us today and I want all of you to give her a big, warm welcome. Maka, can you raise your hand so everyone can see where you are please."

Maka shyly raised a hand, "Um hi."

Suddenly all eyes were on her. Boys, girls, all of them inspecting her, the newest addition to the cuckoo nest. Maka lowered her hand and looked down at her boots, uncomfortable at being stared at so intently. They were all trying to figure her out, she just knew it, all of them were silently judging her in their heads. Then after that long awkward moment of nobody saying anything all of the teens at once broke out into a huge chorus of hellos and heys and hi's. Their welcomings weren't fake though, they were all genuine and friendly and Maka was honestly very surprised that they seemed happy that she was there. Kids were shouting at her from across the circle, telling Maka their names and asking where she was from and what she liked to do. The newest teen's arrival was causing such a big commotion that Marie and Sid had to yell at everybody to settle down and to use their indoor voices.

Eventually the therapists were able to lower the volume and they played getting-to-know-you-games for the rest of the session allowing Maka to be introduced to the other teens in the program. One of the guys, whose name was Ox she later found out, was at the top of his class at West High and when he discovered Maka was the top at South High he suggested that one day they have a friendly competition in a battle of wits. Besides Ox, Maka met a whole bunch of new kids and even re-met BlackStar (he was just being obnoxious and decided he was so great that he should be introduced to her a second time) but during that entire time Soul did not appear once.

After group session had ended the white haired boy still hadn't been spotted in any of the rooms or corridors and he didn't show to dinner either. And that night, as Maka sat at the back table with the group idly twirling spaghetti onto her fork she kept an eye on the door. Wondering what the boy with the crimson eyes was up to.

**Author's Note: Hey guys I hope you liked the chapter, Soul has finally made his debut yay! Thank you to everyone who has followed and favored and reviewed you guys are absolutely amazing and you deserve cookies :) Also I would like to dedicate this chapter to my epic friend Kyra's Auntie. Auntie is like the sickest person ever and my best friend and my soul mate and I promised that chapter five could be for her XD Okay byeeee guys see you for chapter 6! **

**P.S. **

**I started school and it sucks except for the GSA**

**P.P.S **

**I broke my toe yesterday at soccer and it hurts realllly bad :'( **

**P.P.P.S **

**Today is September 11****th**** and I hope that all of you are doing alright and if you don't live in this country then too bad because I hope you guys are doing alright too.**


	6. Bump in the night

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 6**

**Bump in the night**

The shower rooms on the third floor of The Death City Mental Institution for Troubled Teens were usually empty after dinner. The patients preferred to wash themselves in the morning; well, they could have showered during any of their free times but the water was hotter in the morning and showering in the morning was the only time you were allowed to use a razor and shave. Shaving was risky in hospitals like these; if you didn't allow patients to shave they might complain but if you did allow them then they might hurt themselves behind closed doors. The solution the Troubled Teens program came up with was that you could only shave if someone was on duty watching you. It was awkward yes, but it was so that nothing dangerous could happen. However, although everyone residing in the hospital knew the deal about the showers Maka Albarn, the newest patient, did not. Well…not until five minutes ago that is…

"_Hey, Tsubaki, where can I take a shower around here?" Maka asked her roommate as they were heading back from dinner. _

"_The shower room, it's right next to the regular bathrooms," she replied. "You can shower any time you have a free period but going during the 9:00-11:00 free time is the best time to take one."_

"_Why?"_

"_That's the only time we're allowed to shave. It's weird because someone has to watch you while you do it to make sure you don't cut yourself but if you want smooth legs you have to deal with it," Tsubaki told her. _

"_I'm guessing you already showered today?" Maka assumed. _

"_Yep, right after breakfast. Well I'm heading back to the room; enjoy your first cleansing experience here! Oh and don't use the stall on the far left, the knob is broken."_

Maka now stood alone in the shower room, no trace of anyone being there since the morning. It was kind of nice though the blonde thought as she set down her towel, pajamas and some toiletries on a long counter. She had complete privacy and could take as long as she wanted and not have to worry about someone rushing her for their turn. True she wouldn't be able to shave and that meant she wouldn't be able to wear a skirt the next day but she thought it best. It was embarrassing to have someone watch you in the shower, supervising you as you used a razor. She honestly didn't know how Tsubaki could do that. Well, then again Tsubaki had a nice figure unlike Maka who had the body of a ten year old boy. A girl like Tsubaki probably wasn't self conscious about having someone keep an eye on her. But it wasn't only Maka's lack of boobs that made her feel uneasy about the whole shaving idea, it was also her cuts. She never wanted anyone to see them.

Looking into the mirror the teen undid her symmetrical (courtesy of Kid) pigtails and let her ash blonde hair cascade down her back. She then stripped down and made her way over to the first stall. After locking the door behind her she turned a knob and with a small hiss warm water sprayed out from the shower head. Maka closed her eyes and hummed as the hot water rolled down her pale skin, washing away the day's events. _'Yeah, I don't care if I can't shave,'_ Maka thought, _'showering at night when no one's around is awesome.'_ And with no one around and no chance of anyone being able to hear her Maka broke into song and sang her way through her shampooing, conditioning and body washing routine.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

When Maka returned to the room an hour later she found Tsubaki sitting on her bed painting her toes.

"I see you've showered," Tsubaki observed, looking up from her feet and pointing at the towel that was wrapped around Maka's head.

"Yeah and showering at night isn't actually that bad," Maka told her, sitting down on her own bed. "I know you can't shave but you're completely alone and that's kind of nice."

"I think it would be creepy showering alone in a hospital at night, Liz seems to think so at least," the dark haired teen said.

"It's not creepy, you have complete privacy," said Maka, stretching out on the bed.

"You'd have privacy even if there were other people taking showers at the same time as you, everyone is in separate stalls," Tsubaki reminded her.

"Yeah, but when no one's with you you can sing…"

Tsubaki stared at her. "You _sing_ in the shower?"

Maka felt her face heat up, "well…yeah…"

Tsubaki giggled, immediately biting her lip afterwards to prevent herself from doing it again.

"I don't see what's so funny," Maka crossed her arms over her chest.

"You were _singing_ in the _shower_," Tsubaki chuckled, falling back on her bed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

"What and you don't?" Maka retorted.

"No," she laughed. "Everyone sings in the shower but…" More laughter sounded from her. "I would never do that here."

Maka felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth but she fought hard against it. "I don't understand why you're laughing."

"It's funny, Maka!" Tsubaki gasped in-between laughter.

That was when Maka burst into hysterics too; her roommate just looked so ridiculous she couldn't help it. She couldn't help curling up into a wheezing ball on her bed, laughing for the stupidest reason like Tsubaki had done.

"Singing in the shower!" Tsubaki snorted.

Maka shrieked with laughter at the pig like noise that had just come from the taller girl. "Tsubaki!"

"What! I'm sorry!" She laughed, accidentally snorting again.

Maka's stomach hurt and her chest felt tight, air was getting harder and harder to breath. She had never laughed like this before because she had never had a friend to laugh with. Maka couldn't help but grin; this was what she had been missing out on all these years. Laughing over the silliest things till you felt tears in the corners in your eyes, laughing until you couldn't even remember what made you laugh in the first place.

Suddenly their bedroom door burst open, revealing Kid who was dressed in a black silk robe and slippers. His face was completely covered in that green goop they put on women when then went to the spa, he had the cucumbers slices on his eyes and everything.

Kid angrily removed the vegetables from his furious golden orbs and glared at them. "You're interrupting my beauty sleep!" he snapped.

Maka immediately sobered up and gave Kid a questioning look. "But it's only eight; free time isn't even over yet…"

"I must go to sleep at exactly eight o'clock or else my routine will be messed up!" Kid threw his arms up in annoyance. "Now if you're done causing a ruckus I'll be in bed," he then slammed the door and marched off, slippers clicking and clacking loudly on the tile floors as he retreated to his bedroom.

There was a moments silence after Kid had left until Maka warily asked, "um what exactly happened just now?"

Tsubaki took a long breath, refilling her lungs after all of that laughing they had just done. "Kid has this nightly routine he follows," she explained. "And since he's extremely OCD if someone messes it up he becomes really upset."

"So our laughing must have thrown him off then," Maka concluded.

Tsubaki nodded, "but don't let this make you think badly of him. It's just his disorder that gets him all crazy like this sometimes. He's actually very mature and gentlemanly."

"And feminine," Maka added.

Tsubaki let out a small giggle, "a bit."

"I honestly never thought I would see the day a guy wore a mud facial," said Maka.

"Or refer to sleeping as _beauty_ _sleep_," Tsubaki cracked a smile.

"But you're right, Kid's definitely more mature than _some_ of the guys here…" the blonde said with one particular blue haired boy in mind.

"BlackStar isn't that bad," her roommate defended the hyperactive egotistical maniac. "You have to just give him a chance."

Maka raised an eyebrow, "do you like BlackStar or something?"

Tsubaki flushed and looked down at her recently painted toenails, "What? M-me like BlackStar? That's crazy…he's just a friend."

"I don't knowww it seems to me like you do" Maka teased.

"Well what about you and Soul? You obviously have a thing for him," Tsubaki said, turning the tables. "All those questions you were asking me earlier, you're definitely interested."

"That's ridiculous," Maka denied, her voice jumping an octave higher. "I only just met him and he's not even my type."

"Hmm," Tsubaki thought it over, looking skeptically at the blonde. "Alright, whatever you say."

"I'm serious," Maka declared, removing the wet towel from her head and getting underneath the covers of her bed. "I don't like Soul."

"Okay, okay I believe you," Tsubaki assured her as she got under her covers as well.

"Good," said Maka, picking up the book she had been trying to read earlier and opening up to where she had left off. She didn't know what Tsubaki was going on about. Just because she had asked a few questions about the mysterious albino teen didn't mean she liked him. She let out a sigh; she really didn't understand kids her age. _'That's because you've never had social interaction before,'_ she thought. _'You're still getting the hang of being around people who want to be your friend.'_ Maka put down the book and rolling up her pajama shirt sleeve a bit ran her fingertips over the cuts on her wrist. _'If I had had friends would I have done this to myself? Would friends have saved me from my parents?'_ She quickly pulled her sleeves back down; disgusted by the scars she had given herself. Maka then slid far down under the blankets on her hospital bed, buried her head in a pillow and shut her eyes tight. Hoping that falling asleep to the empty blackness she saw with closed eyelids would get the sight of the bright red slashes on her skin out of her mind.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_Maka was back in her living room. Everything was back to normal again. The couches weren't ripped and the wallpaper hadn't been shredded, it was a perfect room taken out of a Better Homes magazine once more. The only thing that wasn't ideal was that on one couch the teen was seated and across from her were her parents. They were looking all cuddly with one another, Spirit had one arm around his wife and Kami had her hand placed lovingly on husband's knee. The two of them stared at each other with newlywed eyes but when their gazes shifted over to Maka they became hostile. _

"_Mama, Papa, are you upset?" Maka asked her parents hesitantly. _

"_Yes," they both answered bitterly. _

"_Are you angry at each other again?" the teen inquired although it didn't seem that way judging by the way they were sitting next to each other. _

_Kami started to laugh, a scornful sound it was. "Oh, Maka, we were never angry at each other," she said, giving Spirit's knee a tender squeeze. "The reason we fight all the time is because of you."_

**…_.._**

**…_.._**

_Because of me?_

**…..**

**…..**

"_B-because of me?" Maka whispered, her eyes tearing up. _

"_Of course, your Papa loves your Mama very much, it's you that makes us so mad," Spirit told his daughter._

"_B-but I never d-did anything," she managed to choke out. She felt a knot in her throat and the tears were flowing freely now. _

"_You're pathetic," Spirit derided. _

"_And you cut," Kami sneered. _

"_I cut because of you two!" Maka half yelled half cried, the taste of salt invaded her mouth and her scars were beginning to burn. _

"_Your cuts are ugly," they both said in monotone. _

"_I know they are! Shut up!" Maka screamed, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and pulling it. She needed them to stop, anything to make them stop. _

"_If you know that they're ugly why do you keep doing it?"_

"_Shut up!"_

"_You're a sad excuse for a daughter."_

"_I SAID SHUT UP!"_

Tsubaki awoke to the shrill sound of her roommate screaming. The dark haired girl scrambled out of her bed and hit the light switch to find that Maka was thrashing violently around in her sleep. "Oh god," Tsubaki breathed as she watched the smaller girl battle a nightmare. Maka's fists were clenched and tears were streaming down her face as she twisted around and became tangled in the sheets. Tsubaki had to wake her up before she hurt herself. She rushed over to Maka's side and gently shook her, "Maka, its Tsubaki please wake up!"

Tsubaki's touch made Maka's body tense up and her screaming worsen. "I HATE YOU! I _HATE_ YOU!" Maka screeched, sending a wild kick towards Tsubaki's general direction.

"Maka, wake up!" she frantically tried again just as their bedroom door swung open.

Tsubaki turned and found that Soul was standing in the doorway in his boxers and night shirt looking in on the scene. "What's happening? Is she okay?" he demanded to know, his usual apathetic red eyes filled with concern as he watched Maka.

"I don't know she just started screaming," Tsubaki said, starting to get upset over the confusing situation. She didn't know what was happening to her friend and she felt powerless. She felt an anxiety attack coming on.

"Let's get her to an adult," Soul said, taking control of things. He walked over to where Maka lay sobbing on the bed and scooped her up into his arms like she weighed nothing.

"No! Stop it!" Maka shouted in her sleep, punching Soul's chest.

"Don't worry it doesn't hurt much," Soul assured Tsubaki who had gasped when the smaller girl started to hit him. The white haired teen then marched out of the bedroom and down the hall in search of the staff, Tsubaki following behind him.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka's screaming had attracted quite some attention. Many of the other patients had woken up and were now peeking out from their doors or standing in the hallway, hoping to find out what the commotion was all about. But as Soul and Tsubaki walked down the hall Soul gave all the bystanders a look that made them retreat back into their rooms. Suddenly Tsubaki was close to tears.

"I hope she's okay, I hope it's not my fault," she kept saying over and over.

"It's not anyone's fault, she's just having a nightmare," Soul said, trying to make the dark haired girl feel better. He then slid his hands up a bit so that he could hold Maka more easily and that's when she woke up.

The blonde was groggy and her vision was blurry from all the tears. "Uh wha..?" she asked incoherently, rubbing her wet eyes. _'Why are my eyes all wet? Have I been crying?'_

"Is she awake?" she heard a girl ask.

"I think so," said a guy.

'_I'm not in bed am I?'_ she thought to herself. _'Someone is… carrying me?'_

"Yo, tiny tits, are you awake?"

Maka looked up and found a pair of crimson eyes staring down at her.

…Soul?

…

_She was in Soul's arms!_

"P-put me down!" Maka shouted at him in a frenzy, spazzing and practically trying to throw herself onto the ground.

Maka's attempt to be let go only made Soul hold onto her tighter. "Hey, calm down, I'm just taking you to Marie."

"I don't like to be carried and why are you taking me to Marie?" she asked snappily.

"Because you were having a nightmare and woke up the entire third floor with your screaming," he explained bluntly.

"It was really bad, Maka," Tsubaki told her, speaking for the first time since her roommate had woken up and making her presence known. "You totally freaked out when Soul picked you up and you started punching him in your sleep. And before that you were screaming that you hated someone…what were you dreaming about?"

Maka suddenly flashed back to the dream parallel of her living room. Her parents weren't fighting; they actually were happy for once, but in exchange for their happiness they had said such terrible things to her. The tears she cried in her dream had transitioned to real life. Maka touched her cheek, it was still wet. "It was nothing…don't worry about it," Maka answered quietly.

"Maka, you really worried me –"

"Well I'm fine," Maka said tersely, not wanting to talk about her distressing dream any longer. "And I don't need to see Marie."

"Well that's too bad because were already here," Soul announced. Maka hadn't noticed but while she and Tsubaki were talking Soul had carried her to the end of the hallway and the three of them were now out in front of one of the white staff doors. Soul knocked loudly and a few moments later Marie was standing before them in her nightgown and hair curlers.

The girl's therapist yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Soul? Tsubaki?" she asked tiredly. "What do you two need at this time of night? You know I thought I heard screaming before but I wasn't sure –" That's when she noticed that Maka was with them and was being carried bridal style by Soul. Marie instantly woke up and started to rapidly fire questions, "What's going on? When did this happen? Is Maka hurt?"

Maka suddenly remembered that Soul was still carrying her. She made an embarrassed noise and quickly hopped down from his arms, her face bright red. "I'm fine, I'm not hurt or anything," she told the therapist.

"She was just having nightmare," Tsubaki told her.

"And woke all the patients up," Soul added.

Marie nodded at this new information. "A nightmare huh?"

"Really, I'm fine," Maka tried to tell her. She felt bad that her fellow troubled teens had woken her up. No one wanted to be bothered with something like this at this late hour.

"No no, come inside and let's talk," Marie gestured for Maka to come into her room.

Tsubaki looked at her with pleading eyes and Soul sent her a glare that clearly read I-didn't-just-carry-you-all-the-way-here-so-that-you-could-refuse-to-talk-with-your-therapist. Maka sighed and followed Marie into her bedroom, shutting the door closed behind her.

Marie's room was set up the same way as Maka's and Tsubaki's, the only difference was that there was one bed instead of two. The therapist and the teen both took a seat next to each other and Marie asked again, "So you had a bad dream?"

Maka nodded and thought about the insults her dream parents had given her. "Yes," she shuddered, having gotten a sudden chill.

"What was it about?"

Maka thought about telling Marie what she dreamed but then felt ashamed. _'Who has a nightmare like this and gets this upset?' _she thought. "….I don't want to tell you."

Marie nodded then stood up from the bed and walked over to her dresser were she pulled out a small composition notebook from one of its drawers. "I give these to some of my patients. It's where they write down the things that they don't want to talk to me about. Sometimes getting thoughts down on paper before sharing them out loud helps," Marie said, giving it to Maka.

"I'm sorry that they woke you up," Maka apologized to her. "I didn't really need to see anyone, they kind of just brought me here while I was still asleep."

"It's fine, Maka," Marie told her. "No matter what time of the day I'm here to help."

Maka nodded and exited her therapist's bedroom; she walked out into the hallway to find Soul leaning causally up against a wall.

"Where's Tsubaki?" she asked the white haired teen.

"She went to Nygus to get some pills. Everything that just happened gave her an anxiety attack," Soul told her, pushing himself off the wall and starting to walk Maka back to her room.

"Oh…an anxiety attack," Maka said, clutching her new journal to her chest and looking down at her feet as they walked.

"Don't feel guilty," Soul told her. "It happens whenever she gets stressed."

"Oh," Maka said again.

The rest of the walk back was silent and they soon found themselves standing outside of the Camilla blossom door that read TSUBAKI.

"This is where I drop you off," said Soul, nodding at the door.

"I guess so," Maka agreed, turning the knob. Before she disappeared into her room she looked at the albino teen and said, "Goodnight."

"Yeah, night," he said to her, turning to go back to his own room after they exchanged goodbyes.

Maka suddenly poked her head back out the door. "Wait…"

Soul glanced back over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Um… thanks for carrying me to Marie..." she spoke shyly.

He smirked. "I thought you didn't like be carried?"

"Yeah, well just shut up and say you're welcome, idiot," She snapped, color rising to her cheeks.

"You're welcome," he said in a mock gentleman tone before turning back around and resuming his walk.

"Oh and Soul…"

He sighed and looked back again. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry for barging in on you today when you were playing piano," Maka apologized. "Tsubaki told me that you don't like anyone listening to you play and I'm really sorry if I heard anything that you didn't want me to…"

He gave a small smile, showing off his pointed teeth, "It's alright."

**Author's Note: AHHHH I'VE BEEN SO BUSY! Thank you to all who have stuck around for this chapter which by the way is dedicated to two of my best friends Saum and Gab Gab who both recently celebrated their birthdays this past weekend. GUYS REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW! DO ANYTHING YOU CAN TO MOTIVATE ME! High School is taking away all of my free time and you guys are what inspire me to write! I love you all and I'll see you soon! XD **

**P.S. The new season of Hetalia just came out and I'm flipping a shit cuz I'm so excited! :D ahhhh Amurrrrica!**


	7. Creeping Up On You

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 7**

**Creeping Up On You**

When Maka woke up the next morning she found that Tsubaki had returned to their room late last night and was sleeping peacefully in her bed. The pills Nygus had given her must have knocked her out really good because when Maka tried to shake her roommate awake for roll call the dark haired girl was like a life sized doll and flopped without a sound back onto her pillow. The meds she was on trapping her in a deep sleep.

After making her bed Maka changed out of her long sleeved green and gold striped pajamas and into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. As she tied her hair back into their signature pigtails she glanced over at the dozing Tsubaki and felt a little stab of remorse. She knew that Soul had told her not to worry about it but how could she not? Her friend was passed out on drugs all because of her. _'I hope that this anxiety attack doesn't interfere with her discharge,'_ Maka thought. It would really suck if Tsubaki had to put more time in; she was probably more than ready to get back into the real world and live her life as a normal teenager. As Maka headed out into the hallway for roll call she imagined her friend going to parties and the mall and doing other things that girls in high school normally did. It was hard to think about Tsubaki, the first friend she had ever made, leaving her behind. But there was no denying it, the fact that her roommate was going to move on and make new friends once she was cleared. She was pretty, kind, funny and would soon be cured of her disorder. Tsubaki was going to get a brand new start and Maka suddenly found herself hoping that the dark haired girl would stay in the hospital, just until she had fixed her own problem at least...

'_What is my own problem anyway?'_ the blonde thought as more and more Troubled Teens started spilling into the hallway so that the doctors could check their names off for attendance. _ 'I'm not even supposed to be here. If there's no problem for Marie and the others to fix does that mean I'll never get to leave? They must know by now that I'm completely normal and that everything's my parent's fault. Yes I took the pills and yes I had that messed up dream but still… it's just a little depression, every teenager gets depressed right? So when…when can I get out of here?'_

The clinking of something metal interrupted Maka's thoughts. The teen looked down the hallway past the other kids towards where the noise was coming from and found herself staring at a tall man who looked like a mad scientist from a horror movie. Bulky boots clomped down hard on the tile floor as he made his way down the corridor pushing a cart that was piled high with pill bottles. He wore a long white lab coat sewn together with messy zig zag stitches and big, round glasses that glinted dangerously. On his head, worn like a head band of some sort, was this strange kind of metal gear. Screws and bolts stuck out of it and rattled as he moved. Maka couldn't help but stare longer than she should have. _'I wonder why he wears that thing? Is it for medical reasons or simply because he wants to have that odd contraption on his head?'_

The man would stop in front of each door and after checking something off on a clipboard he would give the kid who stood in front of him a pill or two from one of the many bottles the cart held. Then, waiting until after they had swallowed, he would make them open up their mouths and check if they were just faking and hiding their medicine underneath their tongues. Maka watched as he went from door to door medicating the teens until finally, he reached the last stop which was her. Parking his cart right in front of her the ominous man towered over the teen and examined her with intimidating gray eyes. "Are you the new patient?" he finally asked her, looking at his clipboard. "Maka Albarn?"

She nodded her head yes and watched as he swiftly checked something off on his board and unscrewed a little white bottle and poured out two tablets

"Here," he dropped them into her hand. "This is the prescription the hospital has assigned to you. Do you need water or anything to take them with?"

She told him no and dry swallowed the pills, a little nervous in doing so under his watchful glare.

"Where's Nakatsukasa?" he asked her when she had finished.

"Huh?"

"Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. She shares this room with you, correct? Where is she?" he inquired once more, pushing up his glasses.

"In bed," Maka told him. "Nygus gave her some pills last night and she's sleeping them off."

He nodded then scribbled something down on his board. "Thanks. Oh and I'm Stein by the way. The medicine/ attendance guy here at the hospital," he introduced.

"Oh okay," Maka said warily, wondering how a guy like him had gotten a job in the medical field. He seemed a little unbalanced; his appearance and the way he spoke just brought a creepy feeling about him. And that peculiar head wear…surely that scared some patients didn't it?

"Maka," Stein suddenly said.

"Uh?" the teen asked unintelligently.

His glasses glinted. "You were staring at me."

"O-oh was I…?" she answered nervously, quickly looking away to avoid eye contact.

"You were…. Perhaps you were wondering why I wear this on my head?"

She gulped unconsciously and nodded.

Stein smiled crookedly. "Well you see, I believe that everything in life is an experiment, and that includes myself…"

"S-so this gear of yours if an experiment you're doing?" Maka asked shakily.

The medicine man's lips curled upward again, and an unsettling feeling washed over Maka. "Why don't you just run along to breakfast?"

That's when Maka noticed she was all alone in the hallway with Stein. Everyone else had already received their pills and had left for the dining hall. She suddenly felt a chill and taking a few steps back Maka stuttered "t-thanks for the meds" before sprinting away.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

For today's breakfast the cafeteria workers had served up a mouthwatering buffet of every tasty morning food imaginable. There was a tall stack of fluffy pancakes and waffles with chocolate chips that smelt heavenly. The French toast drenched in syrup and crispy bacon looked delicious too.

However, due to her recent spine chilling encounter with Stein, Maka's stomach wasn't feeling up for anything. The blonde was about to walk away from the food line empty handed but then Nygus approached her and said in a firm voice that she had to take something. With a sigh the teen went back to the counter to select a light meal that wouldn't make her throw up when suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She spun around and jumped in surprise when she found Soul standing there.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Maka yelled at him.

"I wasn't sneaking, I'm just getting my food same as you," he said. He then reached over, his arm accidentally brushing against Maka's as he grabbed an apple.

"So you finally decided to come and eat?" she asked, looking at the ripened fruit he held in his hand.

"Huh?"

"You weren't at lunch yesterday or dinner," she plainly stated.

Soul smirked. "Keeping an eye out for me are you?"

"No," she scowled, wondering why this kid she barely knew enjoyed teasing her like this. "I was just wondering if you were a super human or something and didn't need to eat."

"Of course I need to eat. I love to eat. I just didn't feel like it yesterday is all," he told her, walking down the food line.

Maka followed behind him with a raised eyebrow. "Do you _try_ to be this mysterious or…?"

He chuckled, "you think I'm mysterious?"

"Yes. And it's creepy."

"Well sorry for creeping you out," he apologized with a laugh, running his hand through his silvery locks.

"Actually you know what's really creepy?" Maka asked. "That Stein guy." She then proceeded to tell Soul all about her first meeting with the medicine man.

Soul frowned when Maka had finished telling her story. "Don't worry about him; he just likes to scare us. He thinks it's funny for whatever reason."

Maka nodded as she took in Soul's advice then said, "That's really weird."

"Well when you're in a weird place there's bound to be weird people."

**OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka stayed with Soul on the meal line until the albino teen had piled his tray with just about every food that was offered. Once this was done the two of them walked away, Soul leading and surprising Maka when she realized that he was heading over to the back table where she had sat yesterday.

"You sit back here?" Maka asked him as they got closer to the group of teens that Tsubaki introduced her to the day before.

"Yes, even I have friends," he told her as the two of them came to a stop in front their table destination.

Everyone (minus Tsubaki who was still drugged) was already there peacefully eating breakfast but when they saw that Soul and Maka had arrived they all began to chatter at once.

"Maka, are you alright? We heard you screaming last night" said Liz.

"Maka was screaming, screaming," Patti clapped her hands and chanted.

"Your girly screams of terror are almost as epic as my manly ones," BlackStar complemented.

"Calm down guys," Soul hushed them as he sat down in an empty spot. "You're so freaking loud."

Maka gave Soul a thanks-for-getting-them-to-shut-up look and said to the group, "Yeah I'm fine it was just a bad dream. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"Don't worry, you didn't wake me up," Kid told her. "After the first time I decided to put in my earplugs so I didn't hear your screaming and I was able to catch up on my rest."

"Catch up on your _rest_?" Liz asked him sarcastically. "_Please_, Kid. You don't need to catch up on anything. You go to sleep at eight every fucking night."

"I think you, a woman, should know just how important it is to get enough beauty sleep. I don't want wrinkles at the age of 30!" Kid cried.

"You're such a drama queen," Liz sighed, pushing away her tray that held a barely nibbled granola bar.

"There will never be normal meals here will there?" Maka asked Soul, as she pulled out a chair and sat down next to him.

He bit into his apple. "Never."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

After breakfast had ended all of the girls and all of the boys headed to the shower rooms while Maka headed off in the opposite direction to Marie's for their second session together. The girl's therapist smiled brightly as the young blonde entered her office and took a seat in front of her desk. Her big caramel eyes shone and she clasped her hands together as she asked the teen how her day was going so far.

"I'm doing alright, I couldn't eat breakfast though," Maka told her, as she played with the strings on her sweatshirt.

"Okay that's fine," Marie nodded. "Just make sure you get something to eat for lunch then okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Maka agreed.

"So could you sleep when you got back to your room? No nightmares?" the therapist questioned.

"Yeah I fell right asleep. No nightmares at all."

"It was sweet of Soul to carry you all the way to my room, don't you think?" Marie asked her.

"Uh yeah, sure.." a small blush crept onto her cheeks as she remembered how last night she had been so helpless and had to depend on a guy she didn't even know to get her to someone.

"Anyway, have you written anything in that journal I gave you yet?"

Maka shook her head no.

"Can you go get it?" Marie asked.

"Sure," Maka said, standing up from the chair and leaving the office to go back to her room and get the journal.

A minute later Maka was seated back in front of Marie with the journal in hand. The teen's therapist then handed her a pen and said, "I want you to write what you weren't able to tell me last night. I'm not going to read it when you're finished so don't worry. Just write about last night and also write about your opinions of the hospital so far."

Maka nodded, saying that she understood her assignment, and uncapping the pen she wrote across the front of the journal THE MAKA NOTE. She then opened up to the first clean sheet of paper and began her first entry.

_Hi, Maka Albarn here. I'm writing to you because last night I had a weird dream. This isn't the first time I've had this dream. The first time was on the car ride to the hospital when I fell asleep in the backseat of my Papa's car. It was disturbing. The things that happened in my head while I was sleeping. I'm in my living room and my parents are there and they're either fighting or saying how I'm worthless. I don't understand dreams and why they happen but I think that this dream is trying to tell me something. My cuts also opened up and I was bleeding everywhere. Is this a sign or something to tell me that I'm a terrible person for harming myself? …Anyway, Marie said that she wanted me to write about the hospital. Okay, here it goes. The people are nice but strange and that Stein guy especially creeps me out and that Blackstar kid is also really annoying. I made a friend the other day; I've never done that before so I feel like I've accomplished something really big. Her name is Tsubaki and she's just so nice to me it doesn't seem real. Why can't the girls at my high school be nice like her? Oh and then there's this boy named Soul –_

Nygus suddenly poked her head in through the door and Maka's pen froze. "Excuse me for interrupting but there's someone on the phone for Maka," the head nurse said.

"It's alright, Maka, you've written a lot. Go and answer your call," Marie said, giving the blonde permission to leave the session.

The teen nodded, shut her journal and returned the pen. Then, after saying goodbye and thank you to Marie, she left with Nygus for the front room which was where the phone was located. When they arrived Nygus pointed Maka over to the phone which was currently on hold.

Maka walked over to it and putting the phone to her ear said, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was so loud it felt like her eat was going to explode. This mystery person kept shouting and all she could catch were the word's "baby", "Papa love's" and "Makkaaaa." But that was enough to figure out who it was.

"Hi, Papa," the teen answered monotonously.

"Maka, sweetie, how was your first day yesterday? Is everyone being nice? Are the adults helping? Are you feeling better?" Her father pried for information.

"I'm fine, Papa."

"Are you getting enough to eat?" a female's voice suddenly asked, stealing the phone away from her dad.

"Yes, mama," she told Kami.

"Good, good,' Kami said. "Oh and we called your school yesterday when we got home so they know what's going on and why you're absent. They said not to worry and they wish you a safe recovery. And also the school is going to be mailing the hospital your assignments so you don't miss any work. They can't have their top student falling behind now can they?"

Maka was about to say something back to her mother when she felt someone nudge her.

"Who are you talking to?"

The blonde turned around and came face to face with Soul just like she had done earlier in the dining hall. Once again she jumped back in surprise and then, covering the phone so her parents couldn't hear, she hissed, "Quit doing that!"

"Heh, doing what?" Soul asked innocently.

"Appearing out of nowhere!" she made a frustrated strangling motion at him with her free hand then uncovered the phone and said to her parents, "yeah I'm still here."

"Who are you talking to?" Soul mouthed.

"My parents," she mouthed back and stuck out her tounge.

"Wanna ditch them?" he mouthed while wearing a huge, shark toothed grin.

Maka didn't think twice before slamming the phone down and heading off with the crimson eyed boy down the hallway.

**Author's Note: Chapter 7 came early yayyyyy! And just in case it wasn't clear this chapter is named Creeping Up On You because everybody was creeping in this chapter. Stein was creeping on Maka, Nygus was creeping on Maka's therapy session and most importantly Soul creeping on Maka just because he can XD I'm really surprised I wrote this so fast considering all the things I've been up to like anime club, GSA, a billion quizzes and tests, my creative writing teacher's messed up assignments and so on. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this chap! I love reviews yumm! *eats all the reviews* they feed ma soul! And oh my god guys this story is almost at a 100 reveiws! I can't even believe it it's just so amazing. I thank you all so much, you guys are perfect *hugs each of you and gives you guys cookies* **

**Oh and I'm sorry I made Stein all scary and stuff, I actually really love him but everyone needs to have that one weird guy in their story ya know? Also I'm sorry he has metal gear on his head instead of the screw going through it, because really, no one in real life has a giant screw sticking out of their head haha. **

**Finally, to answer some questions I have received….. To ****foreveraliangel's question, yes. Yes Soul was indeed wearing the same boxers that he wore during super written exam and to ChiBlockersMoon if you want to write something for the Soul Eater fandom I think that a genderbent fic could be really cool. Personally I love those kinds of stories and wouldn't it be awesome to have Fem Soul and Male Maka make out or something? lol **

**See you guys soon!**


	8. This kid is just too weird

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 8**

**This kid is just too weird**

"So where are you taking me exactly?" Maka asked Soul as he led her down a corridor.

The white haired teen that had just convinced her to hang up on her parents looked at her with lazy red eyes and said, "No place special, just the 11:00 arts and crafts session."

"Arts and crafts?" she repeated in a questioning tone.

"Yeah," he said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "It's not a surprise; didn't you read your schedule?"

"I read my schedule…briefly. I haven't really looked at it much," Maka admitted. She was still getting used to the hospital; it was a big transition after all. The teen was still learning the rules of the place and adjusting to the people. She didn't really have the time to sit down and memorize a schedule.

The two of them suddenly came to a stop in front of the art and music room, the place where they had first met. However, unlike the other day when the room was empty and still, this time the space was buzzing with energy and the voices of all the troubled teens that were already inside. They all sat in a circle on the floor, talking and laughing with one another, and this time Maka knew everyone. Well, everyone except for one person.

Sitting with the teens on the floor was this guy in his early twenties strumming an acoustic guitar. He had blonde hair cut short, light blue eyes and was wearing a white zucchetto and a big smile. He was playing "Come Together" by the Beatles and a couple of kids around him were singing the famous lyrics to one another.

"Who's that?" Maka asked Soul as she watched the man zip his fingers up and down the strings of the instrument.

"Why don't you go and ask him?" he suggested.

Maka shook her head no. "I-I'm not very good at talking to people."

"But you talk to me," Soul pointed out.

"Yeah... but it's hard. I'm still learning how to socialize and things of that sort…" Maka told him, embarrassed by how awkward she sounded. Soul probably thought she was being stupid for saying something like that, but it was true._ 'A guy like him wouldn't get it,' _she thought._ 'He's so laidback and confident when it comes to people and I'm so inexperienced. I guess I'm making (although I don't know how and it's mostly due to Tsubaki) friends but that doesn't mean I'm any good at talking to them. And everyone I've met here so far has approached me in some way, I don't know anything about approaching them.'_

Soul looked at Maka strangely and the blonde couldn't decided if he thought she was crazy, amusing, hopeless or all of the above. Finally, with a large sigh, he slung an arm around her and before Maka could protest she found herself being led over to the guy with the guitar.

Soul nodded at the guy once they had reached him. "Yo, man, it's been long time," he greeted.

"It wouldn't be so long if you actually came to my sessions, Soul," the guy grinned as he bumped Soul's knuckle. He then turned his attention to Maka and asked, "Who are you?"

Soul gave Maka an encouraging look and the blonde shyly answered, "I'm Maka."

"That's a pretty name," the guy complemented, giving her a warm smile.

She blushed and said a quiet thank you.

I'm Justin Law and this is my guitar," he introduced himself, giving the bottom string of his instrument a loud pluck."

"It's nice to meet the both of you," Maka nodded.

"You're new right?" Justin asked her.

"Yeah, I just came yesterday."

"Don't worry, this is only my second year here so I'm new too," he told her with a smile. "I took over arts and crafts and I also added a bit of music into the session too."

"That's cool that–" Maka stopped midsentence when she suddenly noticed that Justin had headphones in. "Wait…how can you hear me with those in?" She listened in closely and found that some upbeat pop song was playing out of them. "And they're playing music too."

"I can read lips," he laughed. "It's my special talent." He then started to play and everyone in the circle began to sway their bodies to the music as Justin began to sing.

**Honey you are a rock  
Upon which I stand  
And I come here to talk  
I hope you understand  
**

A couple of kids scooted over a bit so that Maka and Soul could sit down in the circle. They both plopped down and looked at Justin who had his eyes closed, playing the chords with a smile.

**That green eyes****  
****Yeah the spotlight, shines upon you****  
****And how could anybody deny you**

"See, it wasn't so hard to talk him to right?" Soul whispered in an I-told-you-so voice to Maka as Justin plucked away at the song with his guitar pick.

Maka fought a smile and wacked him with her journal, "oh shut up."

**I came here with a load****  
****And it feels so much lighter****  
****Now I met you****  
****And honey you should know****  
****That I could never go on without you****  
****Green eyes****  
****Green eyes****  
****Green eyes**

Justin held out the last note of his song and let it gradually fade away to nothing. Everyone in the circle began to clap for him; he was really talented and there was something about his voice that just captivated people. "That one was for you, Maka," Justin winked at her. "Alright now who's got a request or something for me to play?"

The teens all excitedly raised their hands, shouting out their favorite songs or asking him to play a new song on the radio that they hadn't got to hear yet because they were stuck in the hospital. Justin complied to these requests and brought a mix of both old and recent music to the room, plucking away with his guitar pick, slower on songs ones and faster on others. His melodic voice carrying out each tune like it was his very last, he played his heart out each time and Maka found it inspiring.

After awhile the music of his guitar died down a bit and before Maka knew it Justin was putting his instrument away and getting ready to do the artsy part of the session. It was at that moment Tsubaki entered the room.

"Tsubaki!" BlackStar shouted, being the first to acknowledge her. He jumped up from the circle and rushed over to the raven haired girl. "Are you alright!?" he demanded to know. "I heard that you were drugged up!"

"Yeah but I'm fine now," she assured him.

"Are you really?" he asked. His voice sounded so concerned and gentle that Maka was a bit surprised. She didn't think that the egoistical maniac had a heart for anyone other than himself.

"Yes, I'm okay I promise," Tsubaki told him. She then turned to the rest of the teens who were still sitting down and locked eyes with Maka.

"Tsubaki," said the pigtailed girl, standing up from her spot and coming over to her. "I'm really sorry about what happened last night. It's my fault that you had that panic attack."

"Maka, you don't have to be sorry," Tsubaki told her. "I don't blame you, I blame myself. If I had better control over my disorder nothing would have happened, this just means that I have to work extra hard in trying to recover."

"Oh," Maka managed to say, a little taken back at how well her roommate was handling everything. Maka was expecting her to be upset, expecting her to be angry with how she had taken steps backwards towards her recovery. But no, Tsubaki had blamed herself and decided to use this setback as a way to make herself stronger. It was really admirable, how determined she was to get better. Maka wished she could be as strong and work towards a recovery, but she still didn't understand why she was here…

"Tsubaki, good to see you," Justin greeted, approaching the tall teenager with a smile. "You missed the first half of the session but we've still got the crafts," he said chirpily.

"Crafts! Whooo!" Patty cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

Tsubaki smiled and asked, "What are we doing today?"

"I thought for today's session we could have free draw," Justin said. He then turned to the teens and instructed for everyone to find a seat at one of the art tables.

A lot of kids offered Maka a spot at their tables, Ox and his friends Kilik and Harvar waved for her to come over to them and two girls called Kim and Jacqueline giggled that the blonde could sit with them. They were all trying to be friendly and Maka knew that but still she turned them down and chose to sit with Tsubaki and her group instead. It wasn't that she had anything against the other kids it's just that she felt the most comfortable around Tsubaki and believe it or not, despite how strange and confusing he was, Soul.

The lunch group, though not to her surprise, was as lively as ever. Patti laughed uncontrollably as she poured mountains of glitter onto her paper and Kid was lecturing Liz about the importance of symmetry in art while she cursed creatively at him. BlackStar was hard at work, coloring feverishly and cutting out patterns with a pair of safety scissors. The blue haired boy then held up his finished project, a cut out of a golden star. BlackStar grinned and taped the star onto his forehead before starting on another one and when that one was done he shouted, "Tsubaki, look! I made you one too!"

Tsubaki smiled as BlackStar proudly handed her the gold star. "Thank you," she blushed as she taped it onto the front of her shirt.

"No problem, I'm glad to share some of my awesomness if it's with you!" he laughed, running a hand through his hair.

"And _that_ is what BlackStar thinks is flirting," Soul whispered into Maka's ear as the two of them watched the scene that was going on in front of them.

Maka giggled softly and whispered back, "I think it's sweet." The pigtailed teen didn't know of any boys back home in Southern Death City who would make a girl they liked an art piece of some sort so seeing BlackStar, as irritating as he was, doing something like this for Tsubaki was kind of cute.

"Yeah well he should just ask her out already," Soul murmured as he moved his pencil across his paper, carefully sketching out some lines.

Maka, who wasn't creative and was unable to think of anything to draw, peered over at the albino teen's work. So far he had down a tiny body that was dressed in a fancy tux. _'Interesting,'_ she thought to herself before asking him, "What are you drawing?"

"Nothing important," he replied, swiftly rounding his utensil so that it formed a head on top of the tux. "What are you drawing?"

"Um nothing yet," she told him as she looked down at her blank paper with a sigh. "I'm not very artistic so I'm not really sure what to draw..."

"Ooh you could draw a butterfly," Kid suggested, entering their conversation.

Liz sighed and gave her symmetry obsessed friend a look, "_Really_, Kid?" she said, joining in the discussion as well.

"Hey, I'm _just_ saying," he put his hands up, defending his idea.

"Well it doesn't really matter," Maka said to them. "The session's ending in a minute so there's really no time to make anything."

Just then Soul slid his paper over to Maka and said, "Done."

Maka looked down at the drawing and her eyes widened with puzzlement. He had drawn a demon, a devil of some sort, the kind with the long pointy ears and horns. It looked all nice wearing that tux of his, Soul had even given it a tie, but its eyes were unsettling and it wore a sinister smile that made Maka have unpleasant flashbacks to her nightmares. She didn't understand why Soul had drawn this; did it mean something to him? But when she turned to ask she found that the white haired boy had already gone.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Soul made his appearance again at lunch, coming up behind Maka on the food line like he had done earlier that day and scaring the living daylights out of her. "Maka chop!" the pigtailed teen called out as she smacked Soul on his head with her MAKA NOTE.

"Oww what the hell?" he complained as he tenderly rubbed the spot that had taken the blow.

"That's the third time today you've done this, I told you to stop being creepy," Maka scolded him as she lowered her "weapon" and continued to pick out a lunch for herself. "Oh and while we're talking about things that weird me out here's your drawing back," she said, pulling the piece of paper Soul had left behind with her out of her journal and returning it to him.

He took it from her and stuffed it into his pocket, "thanks."

"No problem but do you care to share what that thing was?" she asked as she took a sandwich from one of the lunch ladies and plopped it down on her tray.

"It was just something from my head," he said as he followed Maka down the lunch counter.

"Your head?" she questioned. _'His brain must really be an unusual place. First the way his bedroom room is decorated and now this…what goes on up there?'_

"Yeah, its art, expressing yourself and what not," Soul said.

Maka wasn't convinced by his answer, it seemed like he was hiding something. "You know, I was surprised that you came to the session today…you don't really strike me as the kind of person who expresses themselves by drawing."

"I'm not."

"Then why'd you go?" she inquired, wanting to understand the snowy haired boy's intentions. "You could have ditched like you do with all of the other activities."

"I didn't feel like it today."

Maka stared at him for a while; trying to get inside his head, trying to figure out what lay behind those unreadable red eyes. "Is it because I was there?" she finally asked, her voice timid.

"What are you talking about?" he practically snorted. "One person doesn't make me decide if I'm going to show up someplace or not."

Maka blushed angrily at his answer. "Well you must want to hang out with me! You dragged me away from my phone call with my parents to bring me here didn't you?"

"I only did that because you looked miserable talking to them," he stated matter-of-factly.

The sudden change in topic made Maka falter. "Well…yeah…we don't really get along…but I don't want to talk about it…" she mumbled.

Soul looked at her understandingly. "You don't have to," he said. "I won't make you tell me anything. Anything about you, your parents or why you came here, I won't ask about it."

"Oh…okay" she said softly. Soul didn't come off as the kind of guy that was respectful towards other people's backgrounds so she wasn't expecting him to say something like that.

When Maka had finished choosing her lunch she started off towards the back table with Soul walking besides her. Suddenly he asked, "Do you want to know about me and why I'm here?"

She stopped in her tracks. "Huh?"

Soul came around so that he was standing in front of her. "You're curious right? You think I'm mysterious and you want to know about my past and all that other crap."

"I uh well…" Maka was at loss for words. They had just talked about how he wouldn't pressure her into telling him anything and now he was trying to get her to ask about him.

"Yeah, I know I just said that I wouldn't look into your business," Soul said, reading her mind. "But I don't mind you snooping around mine."

"Oh… alright then," Maka said slowly, a bit confused over what has happening. She had a feeling that she was treading into dangerous waters but she really _did_ want to know… "So why are you here?"

He laughed. "Not telling."

"What? Are you kidding?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nope; I'm not going to tell you," Soul grinned, flashing his pointed teeth.

Maka pouted, "Then why did you bother saying all of that?"

"Because you're fun to mess with, tiny tits," he chuckled. He then pivoted away from her and headed over to the dining hall's door. "Later," he saluted.

"Wait, aren't you going to eat lunch with us?" Maka asked.

He shook his head. "Nah I've got things to do," Soul said and then once again he vanished.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka spent the free period after lunch doing her homework. Nygus had found her while she was eating and told her that all of her assignments had been delivered and were waiting for her up at the front desk. The honor's student now sat on her mattress knee deep in a pile of books, papers, essays and exams that hadn't been started.

"Wow, being the top student is a lot to handle," said Tsubaki as her eyes goggled at all of the work Maka had to make up.

"You have no idea," Maka sighed as she got started on a week's worth of math homework.

Finishing all the work she had missed due to her being absent from school would be troublesome but thankfully Maka managed to get through a good chunk of it before it was time to go outside for rec.

Today would be Maka's first time since participating in outdoor activities since she had skipped out the day before. She was led by Tsubaki to the front room where all the other kids (except for Soul who apparently didn't feel like coming) stood waiting by the door that kept them trapped up on the third floor. Sid was there waiting for everyone to arrive, it turns out that he supervised rec as well as being the therapist for the boys. All of the troubled teens were then herded outside for a terrifying match of dodge ball. The star player was BlackStar who twisted through the air skillfully, avoiding the peg of the red rubber ball like a ninja and Maka just stayed away from the front lines, wanting nothing more than to be back inside._ 'Soul's probably inside right now,'_ she thought, staring up at the brick walls of the hospital. _'What's that idiot doing?'_

Later was group session and it was the same as yesterday, everyone sat around in a circle as Marie and Sid talked to them and also like yesterday Soul was absent. As the two therapists asked the teens about how they were feeling and what they wanted to do when they got out of the hospital Maka couldn't help but space out. Soul was driving her crazy and no matter what she tried she could get him out of her head.

At dinner that night Maka did something low. She did something she didn't think she would ever have to do. She voluntarily talked to BlackStar.

"Um, B-BlackStar?" Maka asked the irksome teen who was seated across from her.

The blue haired boy looked up from his food, meat sauce dipping down from his mouth. "Yeah?"

"You're uh you're friends with Soul right?"

"Uh huh! Soul and I are best friends, bros forever!" he said excitedly.

"Since you're best friends can you tell me where he goes all the time? You know, why he's never around?"

BlackStar's face fell. "Sorry, Maka. Even though I, The Great BlackStar, am tight with Soul I don't know that."

"Oh..." she said, disappointed that she couldn't find out any information. "Its okay."

But it wasn't okay. It was making her insane, and the next day was the last straw when didn't appear at all. Not once did Maka catch a glimpse of his gravity defying hair or his crimson eyes. She went through the entire day in a trance, just thinking about where he could be. She was tired of these games he was playing, not showing up anywhere and then showing up and messing around with her. She had had it. The next time Soul showed his face he was going to get it. Maka was going to find out just exactly who this kid was.

**Author's Note:**

**Chapter 8! Yay for symmetry! XD Sorry for the long wait guys a lot has happened recently. School work is keeping me super busy, anime club is great but has consumed my soul (I met this kid there and he's buying me a wig! Awesome right? :D ) and romance is kind of sort of brewing I suppose *blushes*sooo yeah I've been trying to manage life! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Review my peasants! Mawahaha! **

**Oh and the song I used for this chapter is called "Green Eyes" and it's by Coldplay. Yeah I was just listening to them the other day and was like "Imma put this in the story!" :D**

**Dear ****pandoraterra, I'm very sorry I made you choke on your chips and salsa, that was not my intention. But yes I do enjoy genderbent fics :) because seriously who wouldn't want male Maka and Fem Soul to suck each other's faces off?**

**Dear everyone else, you guys are freaking great *throws you cookies***

**P.S. HALLOWEEN IS SOON AND IM FLIPPING OUT BECAUSE GUYS ITS HALLOWEEN! *cosplay rains down from the heavens***

**P.P.S. OKAY THERE'S ALSO A GIANT HURRICANE COMING SOON TO MY AREA SO IF I UPDATE LATE AGAIN THEN ITS BECAUSE MY POWER WAS OUT AND I COULDN'T WRITE. I HOPE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND byeeeee!**


	9. Secrets Kept and Revealed

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 9**

**Secrets Kept and Revealed**

She found him the next day at breakfast sitting at the back table, eating alone in a peaceful quietness that would soon be destroyed once the others arrived. Maka scowled at how content he looked, munching on a bacon and egg sandwich without a care in the world. The pigtailed teen stormed over to him and slammed her tray down next to his. "Alright you better start talking."

"What?" Soul asked with his mouth full of food.

"Don't play dumb. The other day you offered to tell me about yourself and then you just changed your mind," Maka scolded him as she took a seat next to the white haired boy.

He laughed, "So me not telling you bothered you that much huh?"

"Soul, I'm serious about this," Maka stared him down with determination. "And why are you always missing sessions? You say it's because you don't feel like going but is that true? Tsubaki told me that you've been here the longest but do you think that that makes you better than us or something?"

"No I don't think that at all," he said.

"Then why do you do it? Who are you, Soul?"

Soul looked away from the intense gaze of her green eyes. "Are you sure you want to know?" he asked, his tone telling her to be cautious when picking her answer.

"You asked me that the first time we met and I wanted to know your name," she said. "Yes, I do want to know who you are. You're so confusing and mysterious and you look like one of those douchebag guys at my high school but you act completely different and I just don't know but I want to understand it. Why are you here at the hospital? It's okay if you're a psychopath or whatever, just tell me the truth. I _need_ to know."

"You're painfully honest with your feelings."

"_Soul_," she warned.

The boy went silent, thinking things over until he finally said, "Alright… I'll tell you."

Maka lit up. "Great!"

"On Saturday."

"What!? Why can't you tell me now?" she questioned. _'Let's see, three days have passed since I arrived at the institute and its Thursday now. Do I really have to wait two more days? I don't know if I can do it."_

"Please just wait till then," Soul said, reading her mind. "I promise if you wait I'll tell you everything."

"Promise is a big word," Maka crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not sure if I believe you."

"You can trust me," he said earnestly, sticking out his pinky to her.

Maka wrapped her pinky finger around his, "okay."

They were quiet for a moment, simply looking at each other after having just pinkie sworn to something, but then the moment was over when BlackStar broke the atmosphere by showing up out of the blue and cheering, "Hell yeah they let me get extra bacon today!"

Maka and Soul broke eye contact to look at the blue haired boy. "That's great, BlackStar," Soul said dryly.

Not understanding the sarcasm BlackStar nodded enthusiastically, "I know right!?"

Then one by one the gang arrived at the table with their breakfasts and everything was back to its usual craziness. The conversation that followed everyone's entrance went something like this…

Patti: Hey, Sis, do ya think that giraffes can be purple?

Liz: No, Patti, they can't

Patti: Well I want a purple giraffe when I'm older

Kid: I don't care what color your giraffe is as long as its symmetrical

Liz: Oh my god shut up!

Kid: It's a free country, Liz, and I will speak of symmetry if I wish

Tsubaki: BlackStar if you keep eating at that speed you'll choke

BlackStar: Gods don't choke!

Liz: I hope you choke on that purple giraffe, Kid!

Patti: Hey I thought you just said giraffes can't be purple!

Tsubaki: Ew…Blackstar gross..

BlackStar: The only thing that's gross is Liz's face in the morning

Liz: WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU LITTLE SHIT!?

Maka laughed quietly to herself as she listened to them. Believe it or not she was actually becoming accustomed to their antics. She wasn't saying that she belonged here with them because she didn't, she was a normal girl and this whole mental hospital thing was just the mistake of an uptight therapist and her delusional parents, but she was kind of starting to take a liking to the troubled teens. Maka suddenly met Tsubaki's eyes for a moment from across the table and her roommate gave her a smile before turning to laugh at something that Liz had said. Tsubaki, her first friend, and now all these other kids were becoming more familiar to her too. Would she soon be able to call this odd cast of characters her "gang" too? She then looked over at Soul, the mysterious boy whose past she would come to learn in two days time. She wondered what he would reveal to her, what kind of deep and dark secrets were being held in those crimson eyes? She wanted to know at that very moment but she had to be patient. And although waiting a full 48 hours would be torturous she somehow knew that she could get through it with everyone by her side.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Your parents called this morning," Marie said to Maka during their session later after breakfast.

Maka seemed to shrink in Marie's leather chair, saying nothing and fiddling with her hands.

"They said that the other day they called and you hung up on them," the therapist drummed her fingers on her desk, waiting for her patient to answer.

Again Maka said nothing.

Marie sighed, "You know they're really worried about you."

The pigtailed teen couldn't help but let out a scornful laugh. "Really? Because they never cared before," she said spitefully.

Things were quiet for a moment. Maka had been going to these sessions everyday for almost a week now and not much progress had been made. Now they were finally starting to get somewhere and Marie encouraged the teen to continue by asking her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Much to Marie's surprise Maka nodded and began an angry-at-the-world teenage rant with. "They suck," she began. "They're so caught up in their own little worlds and they don't realize how much they screw my life up…."

"How do they screw your life up?" Marie asked, taking some notes down on her pad.

"They… they," Maka tried to find the right words to explain. "They're always screaming and fighting and they don't pay attention to how much they hurt me."

"Do they mentally hurt you or physically hurt you?" Marie asked her.

"Mentally hurt me…and socially hurt me," the teen answered that last part softly.

"Socially hurt you? How so?"

Maka's eyes were glassy as she said, "They're the reason I don't have any friends."

Yes, there was a reason that Maka Albarn was so uncomfortable around people; there was a reason why she couldn't talk to kids her age and understand them. She knew why she didn't have any friends before coming to the hospital, and now for the first time, she was going to share with someone why this was so.

"When I was in elementary school," Maka started slowly, "kids would used to ask me to play with them." Her voice was in a far off place, it was if she had traveled back in time and was reliving the events in her head as she spoke about them. Marie leaned in and listened carefully, hanging onto every word the teen said.

"They'd say, 'hey come over to my house after school!' and so I did, and I had fun." Maka paused for a moment before talking again. "Eventually people started wanting to come to my house, they had invited me over so I should do the same for them right? The first time I ever had someone over was in the first grade. She came home with me after school one day to play dolls and eat snacks and do other things little kids usually do on play dates. Everything was going great...until my Papa got home from work. He started fighting with my mama the moment he walked in the door and the girl I was with was so scared." Maka paused again then said, "I was mortified, how could they act this way in front of me let alone another child? I was so embarrassed that I never invited anyone over ever again and eventually, since I never reached out to anyone the kids I went to school with stopped inviting me over. They thought that I was stuck up or something because I never wanted anyone over, but I'm not stuck up, I never was, I just didn't want them to find out about how awful my parents are…"

"You must have been awful lonely," Marie said, feeling compassion for her patient.

Maka nodded, "It's terrible when you can't talk to anyone, people at school or your own parents. I-I guess that's why I'm so shy around everyone here; I grew up isolated from the people around me, so it's hard to communicate with the other patients since I've never had any practice at it."

"May I ask what you did to pass the time?"

"Books. Books are my best friends," Maka answered. "I studied and read all the time since there was no one who wanted to talk to me and before I knew it I was the top student at South High…It's kind of sad though that that's my only identity…it's also sad that my parents don't even appreciate it because they're too busy arguing…"

"Maka…" Marie said, not knowing what else to feel except for sadness towards the teen.

"It's okay, I-I think I'm getting the hang of things... you know, talking to people. Tsubaki's been really nice and I think I get along pretty well with Soul and the others are starting to become easier to be around," Maka told the therapist.

Marie smiled, "I'm happy for you, Maka, that's good that you're making progress."

Maka nodded and standing up from the leather chair to take her leave she said, "I think I'm done talking for today."

Marie understood, the girl had said a lot after all. "You may go. Thank you for sharing that with me, Maka."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Look who decided to come today," Maka mused as she walked up next to Soul who was headed down the hallway to arts and crafts.

"From now on I'll try to go to as many sessions as I can," Soul said to her.

"As many sessions as you can? Or as many sessions as you feel like going to?" Maka asked, humor in her voice.

He spun around and started to walk backwards and answered with a shrug, "both I guess."

Maka shook her head, "you're weird."

"Yes I think you've mentioned that a few times," Soul chuckled.

"Hey…just wondering but where were you the other day? You know, the day you didn't appear at all," the blonde questioned.

"My parents took me out for the day," he answered like it was no big deal.

Maka's eyes widened. "You can do that? Leave the hospital for the day with your parents?"

"If they fill out all the forms then yes, your parental units may have you to themselves for a single day," Soul told her. He then grinned that shark toothed grin and said, "Why'd you ask? Did you miss me or something, tiny tits?"

Maka frowned and smacked his arm. "Stop calling me that! And no, I did not miss _you_."

Soul laughed, "wow you're cold….so what did _you _do all day here while I was gone?"

"Oh nothing much, just caught up on my reading of _The Sophificated Studies of Pyrotechnics and Their Genesis_," she answered.

"Huh?"

Maka translated it into a language that Soul could understand. "The advanced book of explosions and their beginnings."

"Ohh," he nodded like it all made sense now. "That's kind of cool."

They reached the arts and crafts room and Maka smiled, "it kind of is."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

A few hours passed and Maka found herself outside for another wondrous session of outdoor rec. This time was different however because unlike the other days Soul had actually shown up. Maka sighed as she watched the white haired boy stretch alongside BlackStar and Kid. Never had she been as embarrassed over her lack of athletic ability as she did now.

"Alright, today we'll be splitting up into two teams for basketball," Sid announced to all of the Troubled Teens.

"Ooh I want to be captain!" BlackStar declared.

"Okay, BlackStar's captain," Sid said. "Who wants to be captain for the other team?"

"I'll do it," Soul raised his hand to voleenteer.

"Evans, nice to see you participating," Sid nodded. "Alright, BlackStar, you choose first."

The teams ended up being BlackStar, Tsubaki, Kid and a bunch of other teens vs. Soul, Liz, Patti, Maka and everyone else. Maka's stomach flipped when Soul called her name, she hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed when he found out that she sucked at sports.

'_He's going to regret picking me,'_ Maka thought to herself as she walked over to her team's side. The game hadn't even started yet and already she had no idea what was going on. Sid blew the whistle to start and she groaned. _'I hate having to be active.'_

Soul started with the ball. After bouncing it a few times he dribbled over towards the basket to try to score. As he did this the other members of the team followed behind him. _'I guess I should do the same,'_ Maka thought, going after her team mates. When she reached them Soul called out to her, "Catch!"

The bright orange ball whizzed across the air and into Maka's arms. "W-what do I do!?" she shouted frantically.

"Shoot!" her entire team yelled to her.

Maka went into shooting position, or at least what she thought a shooting position looked like. But before she could do anything Soul shouted, "Watch out on your left!"

Maka swiftly turned her head to the left but nothing was there until about 5 seconds later.

"In back of you!" Soul yelled.

Maka quickly spun around to look behind her and again nothing was there until a good 5 seconds after Soul had warned her.

'_What the…?'_ Maka thought. _'It's like he just predicted the future…twice!'_

The game continued on like that. Soul barking out orders to their team, telling them where to go and what to watch out for before it happened. It was crazy, especially when the game ended in a stunning defeat of BlackStar's team which actually brought the blue haired boy close to tears. But Maka didn't get how Soul had done it. _'Maybe he's just really good at basketball?'_ Maka guessed. But that couldn't be it. This kid was just a never ending pit of discoveries and secrets for her to wonder about. But Saturday was only two days away and if she waited patiently then maybe he would tell her the truth to this mystery too.

**Author's Note: GUYS I LOST POWER FOR TWO WEEKS SO IM SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER IS SO LATE! FORGIVE ME PLEASE! IT'S NOT MY FAULT IT WAS HURICANE SANDY'S. Anyway…a lot has happened in this chapter which is surprising considering the amount of time I had to write it. Recap on events: 1) Maka must wait for two more days before learning the truth about her dear albino soul mate 2) It is revealed why Maka is so awkward and doesn't have any friends 3) Soul is shown to have another weird secret which Maka is now curious about. I hope you liked the chapter! And I hope to see you all soon! But before we depart I must give you wonderful, lovely readers some cookies *Throws you all cookies* Byeee!**


	10. Fitting In

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 10**

**Fitting In**

Maka awoke in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding inside of her chest and her breathing was ragged. Another nightmare had eaten away at her. Shivering, the teen drew the bed covers tightly around her, not wanting to be exposed to the darkness of her dorm room. She then turned on the lamp that sat on the nightstand between her and Tsubaki's beds and saw that her raven haired roommate was soundlessly asleep, unaware that Maka was up and about and very troubled.

It was the same exact nightmare. It was the same exact nightmare in the same location with the same two people, her Papa and Mama. Why was it so repetitive? What did this twisted dream mean? This time her parents had knives growing out of their hands instead of fingernails, they pinned her down and torn open her skin while shouting horrible things at her. Maka shuddered; she would have to try and find a book on dreams so that she could figure out what was going on.

The blonde then turned to look up at the clock hanging on the wall and what she found surprised her. She expected it to be around three in the morning or something but instead it was only 6:30, 30 minutes till she had to get up anyway for roll call. She obviously couldn't get back to sleep after _that _mess of a dream so instead to pass the 30 minutes she took out the MAKA NOTE that she had stashed under her pillow and started a new entry.

_This morning I woke up from another strange dream. This time my parents were cutting me open with knifes. I'm kind of scared and I want to know why this is happening but I'm afraid to tell Marie about it. I don't want her to be annoyed with me. I still feel really bad about waking her up that last time I had a nightmare. I know it's her job to help and stuff but I don't want her to worry about me. The other girls that she has to take care of have real problems and I don't really have a problem. That's another thing besides these dreams that's been bothering me. Why am I here? I still don't understand. And I also have to wonder what those awful people I have for parents are doing right now. They couldn't have gone to marriage counseling like Dr. Yumi said right? They're too stubborn to admit that their relationship has major problems….On a brighter note today's Friday which means only one more day until Soul tells me about his life before being sent to the hospital. I wonder where he comes from? Which part of the city does he live? He obviously doesn't come from the Southern part of Death City because then he would be in my high school but is he possibly from the North side? He just strikes me as the kind of guy that comes from North High, you know, considering the way he dresses and all. I'm a little nervous to hear the truth though, he keeps warning me about himself like he's a danger to me or something and he wants me to keep away. I don't know maybe kids in mental facilities are just weird…I must go now, Tsubaki's up._

"What are you writing?"Tsubaki yawned, sitting up in bed.

Maka slipped the MAKA NOTE back under her pillow. "Eh just a little rant about whatever," she told her. "I woke up a little before roll call so I was just passing the time."

Tsubaki groaned as she left the warmth of her bed, getting up to dress for the day. "Passing the time by writing? Don't tell me you've run out of books to read already?"

"Nah I get a bunch of books delivered to me each day. My school just loves to keep me busy," Maka answered as she watched Tsubaki pull on a cute skirt. Tsubaki's outfit choice made her think about her own wardrobe. Maka missed wearing her little plaid skirts but she couldn't wear them unless she shaved her legs, which meant showering in the morning in front of somebody, which meant her cuts being exposed. No, that wasn't happening. But still, her supply of jeans was dwindling and when those were gone she'd_ have _to wear the skirts. Until the hospital did the laundry that is, _'whenever that is,'_ she thought dryly as she got up to get dressed herself.

After dressing, the two girls joined their fellow Troubled Teens out in the hall for roll call and took the meds provided by Stein. They then went and got breakfast which ended in an intense thumb wrestling battle between BlackStar and Kid. When the meal was over all the girls went to go take their showers and Soul walked Maka to her appointment with Marie. And plopping right down in Marie's leather chair the teen asked her therapist a question that had been bothering her for quite some time.

"Marie, why am I even here?"

Marie gave a soft smile, "you want to know why you're here?"

Maka nodded. "Everyone here has a problem, a disorder of some type. But I don't have OCD like Kid or anxiety like Tsubaki, I'm just Maka, just me and I honestly think this whole thing has been a mistake."

"You think this is a mistake and you want to leave? Don't you like it here with us though?" Marie asked the teen.

"No I do," Maka assured her. "At first I wasn't so sure but now I feel really comfortable and kind of happy."

Marie wrote something down on her notepad. "What about this place makes you happy?"

"Well there's the fact that there's always someone to talk to…" Maka began, a small smile making its way onto her face. "And all the teens and the things we do together, everyone's really welcoming."

Marie nodded and then asked, "Maka, do you know what kind of medicine you're taking each morning?"

"No," the pigtailed girl shook her head.

"You're taking Prozac and Lexapro. You do know what those drugs are for?"

Again the teen shook her head no.

"They're for depression. You're here because you suffer from depression, Maka," Marie said as gently as possible.

Maka stared at Marie for a while before the therapist started to talk again. "You're not alone in this; teenagers everywhere have problems with depression. But you're getting better, Maka. You say this place makes you feel happy, you say you're making friends. You're making progress and that's wonderful. If you stay here a little while longer hopefully you'll feel better again."

"How much longer is a little while longer?" she asked. "I thought Dr. Yumi said this would be a two week program."

"It is a two week program," Marie nodded. "But if you're making progress and want to stay longer you can. Well, if your parents agree to it that is."

Maka nodded and Marie said, "Look, there's no rush. You've only just begun your stay here and you've got a long way to go before you're fully recovered and ready to go back into the real world. If you say you're enjoying yourself here then you shouldn't worry about it. You'll get better at a pace that's right for you and we're all going to be there to help you through it."

Marie really was a wonderful person, she always knew what to say and Maka was so grateful to her for wanting to help. For a second the teen wondered what it might be like to have Marie for a mother instead of her own but she quickly shook that thought out of her head. _'You'll only make yourself sad if you imagine things like that,' _she mentally scolded herself. Their time was up for today so Maka headed over to the door but before she left she gave the therapist a small thank you.

Marie just nodded and smiled, "it's always a pleasure to help."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"You've been here for a while," Tsubaki said to Maka later that day in arts and crafts.

Maka nodded as she colored. "Yep, a whole 4 days have passed and this will be the 5th."

Tsubaki smiled and gestured to the markers that lay scattered on their table. "Grab a color you like."

Maka quirked an eyebrow, unsure of what the dark haired girl wanted, but reached over for the blue marker anyway. After Maka had selected her marker of choice Tsubaki led her out of the art and music room and back to their dorm. The two girls now stood outside of the camellia blossom door that read TSUBAKI in silence until Tsubaki grinned and said, "It's not just my room anymore."

Maka's eyes widened when she realized what Tsubaki meant and getting down on her knees right under her roommate's name she carefully printed AND MAKA with the blue magic marker.

"You've officially moved in," said Tsubaki happily once Maka was standing on her feet again.

The blonde stepped back to admire the door which was now partly hers and smiled. "Yeah, I guess I have."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"So I passed by your dorm earlier," Soul said to Maka on their way to the dining hall that night. "I see that Tsubaki let you add your own touch."

"Yeah, I feel like I'm apart of everything now, you know?" the pigtailed teen said, thinking back to that morning. It was like signing her name with that blue magic marker had inducted her into a secret society of some sort, a secret society where all the members had crazy mental problems. Yes, it was a little strange, but it was the first time that Maka had ever belonged to something and as she thought about it she couldn't help but smile.

"Yeahh writing your name on a hospital door does that to a person," Soul laughed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Maka laughed along with him, her soft giggle mixing in with his throaty chuckle. They continued on like that for another moment until Soul said excitedly, "I can't wait."

"You can't wait for what?" Maka asked.

"Its pizza night," he told her.

The pigtailed teen raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So? Its _pizza_," he said like it was the greatest thing on earth.

"Tsubaki told me that _every_ Friday is pizza night," Maka rolled her eyes.

"And?"

"Well if it's _every_ Friday night then it really isn't that big of a deal," she explained as they arrived at their destination.

The delicious aroma of pizza swirled through the air and took immediately to the teens' noses upon their entry to the mess hall. They both breathed the lovely Italian smells in before getting their trays and joining their friends at the back table to eat. Everyone was already digging in when they arrived; especially BlackStar who was hungrily gulping down slices like his life depended on it. Even Liz, much to Maka's surprise, couldn't pass up a little nibble of the cheesy delicacy.

"Sup," Soul greeted as he sat down next to BlackStar.

The blue haired boy stopped eating momentarily to do this bro handshake thing with him then continued to stuff his face while Maka took the empty seat next to Tsubaki who was having a conversation with the two sisters and Kid.

"So if you guys want we can all chill in my room after dinner," Liz was saying to them.

"That sound's fun," Tsubaki said. The raven haired girl noticed that her roommate had joined them and turned to her she said, "After dinner to you want to hang out at Liz's with all of us?"

"Pleaseeeeee come, Maka!" Patti begged as she slurped up some pizza cheese. "I cleaned the room and everything!"

Maka didn't know what to say. She couldn't remember the last time she had been invited to hang out with somebody, let alone an entire group of people. What did teenagers do when they hung out? In the books she had read adolescent characters usually did stereotypical teenage type things when they got together like gossiping or playing dirty games like seven minutes in heaven. But what did teenagers in mental hospitals like to do for fun? She looked to Tsubaki for help.

"It'll be fun," Tsubaki assured her.

"Yeah, the_ funniest_ stuff goes down when we all chill," Liz told her.

"You should come," Kid said.

With all of them encouraging her, saying that they wanted her to be there Maka nodded her head yes. "Okay I'll go."

"Awesome," Liz smiled. The trendy, model thin teen then threw a napkin at BlackStar and Soul to get their attention. "Hey, losers, we're chilling in my room after dinner."

"Sweeeeet," BlackStar nodded as he finished up his food.

"Cool," Soul agreed, swallowing the rest of his slice too.

And since everyone was finished eating their little group took off and headed to the dorm of Liz and Patti.

**Author's Note: Hi everyone nice to see you all again! How did you like the chapter? I can't believe we've reached 10 already! XD I just really want to say thanks to all of you for reading this, you guys really make my day. All the follows and favorites and reviews are just super awesome and just ughhh group hug! *group hug to all the readers* I can't wait to see you all next time! Chapter 11 should be an interesting one mawahaha I think I see a game of truth or dare in Maka's future XD Byeee!**


	11. Truth or Dare?

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 11**

**Truth or Dare?**

Liz and Patti's room looked like an atomic bomb had gone off in it. The mess was just unimaginable and the floor nonexistent. Mountains of dirty clothes, old fashion magazines and the skeletons of empty hair product bottles had been strewn carelessly about the room and it seemed that they would forever be there to stay. It was truly the face of every mother's nightmare.

Maka stood in the doorway of the sisters' dorm alongside the rest of the group. They had all been invited here to hang out after dinner but that didn't seem possible now considering the fact that they might not be able to walk into the room.

"Patti…" Tsubaki began slowly. "I thought you said you cleaned." The raven haired girl's eyes were wide as she took in the atrocious sight.

"I did!" bubbled the small blonde as she began to push through the rubbish, making a little foot trail to what Maka believed to be the beds.

Liz sighed. "Sorry everyone," she apologized. "I entrusted Patti to make things neater while I was out having my session. I didn't see how things looked until right now. I understand if you don't want to chill here…especially you, Kid…"

The gang turned to look at the OCD boy; he looked like he was about to cry. He then suddenly shoved everyone out of his way and stormed into the room. "Patricia Thompson, this is unacceptable!" he screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Patti who was sitting on her bed acting as if nothing was wrong. "How can you live like this!" he demanded to know as he knelt down and started to try and straighten things out. "Unacceptable!"

Liz watched Kid fold and organize a heap of laundry for a moment before trudging through the mess and sitting down beside him. "Hey, Kid, you don't have to clean our room…" she told him as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"No!" the golden eyed boy shook his head. "I _want_ to clean it! I'll make it perfect for you, Liz, I promise!"

The trendy teen gave him this look that Maka didn't quite understand and said, "Alright…go ahead. But don't just focus your attention on cleaning, be a part of our conversation too."

Kid smiled, "of course."

Liz then proceeded to push the mountains of clothes down, making a path for the teens waiting at the door. "I guess you guys can come on in," she said as she stood up and waved them over to her and Patti's beds.

After receiving the okay from Liz the group stepped forward into the Thompson sisters' dwelling; BlackStar first followed by Tsubaki, Soul and then Maka. They all waded through the clutter until they had reached the floating islands that were the girls' beds and once there they all settled down, well, that's when the fun started.

"Does Maka know about the legend of the 3rd floor?" BlackStar asked Tsubaki.

The whole lot groaned (excluding Maka who didn't know what BlackStar was talking about) and Tsubaki shook her head no.

"What's the legend of the 3rd floor?" Maka asked the group.

"It's just this lame, make-believe ghost story that BlackStar thinks is true," Soul told her.

"It_ is_ true!" BlackStar protested. "100% true!"

"Whatever, let's not talk about it," Liz said. There was panic in her voice but she tried to hide it by examining her nails and pretending to be bored.

Soul noticed that Liz was on edge and smirked. "You sound scared."

She tossed a piece of hair over her shoulder. "I am _not_," she declared huffily.

"Then you won't mind if we tell her right?" Soul's smirk widened. "It wouldn't be cool for everyone here to know the story except Tiny Tits."

Liz didn't even have time to respond because BlackStar had started waving his hand in the air while shouting, "Ooh! Let me tell it! The Great BlackStar is the best at storytelling!"

"Go ahead," Soul told his friend, enjoying the annoyed look on Liz's face as he did so.

BlackStar cheered and pulled a flashlight out of his pocket (no one asked where he had gotten it, they were used to his random antics at this point) and Patti turned the lights off for effect. Then, with the dorm completely dark except for the dim flashlight illuminating BlackStar's face, the blue haired boy launched into his tale of the legend of the 3rd floor.

"Once upon a time…like about six years ago I think, there was this guy who was a patient here," BlackStar began. "His name was Asura and he was a cold blooded killer. The dude murdered three kids from his high school before he came to the hospital; he skinned them then wore their skin on his body like clothes. Yeah, the guy had issues. Anyway…he was naturally sent here, the Troubled Teens program thought that they could fix him. The Troubled Teens thought that they could fix anyone."

BlackStar paused for a moment and looked at his listeners to make sure he was keeping them intrigued. And he was, everyone's eyes were fixated on him (well not soul's because he thought the whole thing was stupid) Liz's were filled with terror and Maka's with interest for this was her first time hearing such a story.

"Asura stayed on the 3rd floor, the same floor we're staying right now," BlackStar told them. "He even had one of our dorms but I'm not sure which one…could have been any of them..." BlackStar glanced at Liz and gave her a wicked grin. "It could have been this one…"

Liz yelped and BlackStar continued on. "He was so insane that none of the therapists could get through to him. They'd ask him basic questions and he'd just reply with disturbing answers. A during arts and crafts he would draw pictures of the other patients dying….One night, one of the therapists woke up and saw him sitting in the corner of her room. He was just sitting there watching her in the darkness. She started screaming for help but before anyone could come Asura had fled from her room and the next time anyone saw him he was laying outside the institution with a broken neck. He was dead; jumped straight to hell out of the building. But the thing is no one knows how he did it. The windows have bars over them, and it wasn't possible for him to get to the roof because the door keeping everyone in containment is bolted shut at night. His death is a mystery to everyone here but someone people say he isn't dead at all. Some people say he's still hiding somewhere in the institution, and in the middle of the night they hear his screams, vowing revenge…."

"Liz…are you crying?" Tsubaki asked, interrupting the story.

"No!" she sniffled.

Patti leapt off the bed and ran to hit the lights. In the now lit dorm room everyone had a clear view of the older Thompson sister rubbing at her eyes furiously and of BlackStar who shut his flashlight down with a scowl.

"You're such a baby," the blue haired boy jeered. "Toughen up, will ya? I haven't even gotten to the good part!"

Kid stood up from the pile of clothes that he had been folding and came over to Liz's side. "Leave her alone, BlackStar. It's not her fault she gets scared over stuff like that."

Tsubaki was starting to get nervous. "Hey, let's just calm down, everyone," the dark haired girl said, not wanting a fight to break out.

"Yeah, why don't we play a game instead?" suggested Patti. "Games aren't scary."

Everyone looked at her. "What did you have in mind?" BlackStar asked.

Patti grinned ear to ear and her eyes darkened. "Truth…or…dare."

Now Maka knew what truth or dare was, she had read about it plenty of times in different books about teenage adolescence but she had never tried it herself. She felt a little nervous; it would be her first time playing such a thing. She had to make sure she didn't pick dare, in all of the books the dares were the risky things that got people into trouble. But then again…some of the truths she read about could be dangerous too. No matter which way she looked at it all of her choices led to an unavoidable hazard. But yet she found herself still wanting to play. To not turn away from people and act like a regular kid her age. Well, as regular as a mental patient got anyway.

The group fixed their circle on the two beds and BlackStar grinned. Naturally the bigheaded one was to go first. He turned to Tsubaki who sat next to him and asked, "Tsubaki, truth or dare?"

Maka studied her roommate closely, wondering which she would choose._ 'Whatever Tsubaki picks must be the safe way to go,_' Maka thought to herself.

"Truth," answered Tsubaki, and BlackStar smiled.

"Do you like anybody?" he asked her expectantly.

The raven haired girl blushed and looked away from him. She didn't have to say anything for the group to know her answer.

"Who is it?!" BlackStar inquired eagerly. He was practically bouncing in his seat.

Soul laughed, "You only get to ask her one thing, idiot. It's mine turn now."

"Soul, truth or dare?" Tsubaki asked the albino.

"Dare," he answered confidently.

"I dare you to run into the front room and scream that you shit your pants."

The whole group laughed; partly because of the dare and partly because Tsubaki _never _used language like that. "Easy," Soul scoffed and so they sent him out of the room, BlackStar going along with him as a witness, and when they came back the egotistical boy was almost in tears.

"Oh god you should have seen Nygus' face it was priceless! She asked if he wanted a diaper!" BlackStar howled, clutching his stomach.

"Alright," Soul said, sitting back down on the bed. "Patti, truth or dare?"

"Truth!" Patti hollered.

"Who would you rather make out with? BlackStar, Kid or that creepy kid Crona who never leaves his room?"

"Crona," she said right away.

"Huh?" the entire group asked in unison.

"I hear his hair is pink," she stated simply. "Pink's the color of waterfalls. I like waterfalls."

A few concerned glances were sent her way before they moved on to Kid. "Truth or dare?" Patti asked the OCD teen.

"Dare," he said.

Patti licked her lips, her blue eyes glinting dangerously. "Go stick your hands in the toilet."

Kid's mouth fell open. "W-WHAT!?"

"You heard me," she snickered, twirling her short blonde hair around her finger.

The black and white striped haired boy looked like he was about to vomit. "THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

Soul and BlackStar laughed and said, "You _have_ to do it, man, she dared you."

"Well I refuse!" Kid shouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's vile and just ugh! What is _wrong_ with you, Patti!"

"If you won't do my dare then you'll have to do a penalty instead," Patti told him.

"Fine. What is it?" Kid questioned. "Anything has to be better than _that_."

"You have to streak down the main hallway."

"…"

A few minutes later the group was gathered in the men's bathroom where Kid was kneeling before one of the toilets, his head hanging in shame. "Damn you, Patti!" Kid cursed. His entire body was shaking as he moved his hands over the opening of the white bowl.

"Come on, Kid!" BlackStar cheered his friend on. "It's only for a second! Dip them in and pull them right out!"

"B-but it's so unsanitary!" Kid wailed.

"You can do it, Kid!" Soul rooted for him. "If you don't then the girls are going to see your junk!"

And with that the OCD teen plunged his hands inside the toilet, pulling them out a second later with a high pitched squeak. "I hate you all!" Kid cried as he ran for the sink. The gang watched as he lathered up his hands with a shit ton of soap before intensely rinsing them with hot water.

Once Kid's dare had been completed they returned to Liz and Patti's dorm room and after getting resituated on the beds Kid turned to Liz and asked, "Truth or Dare?"

"After what you just went through I want to say truth but I realllly want to pick dare," she said. "So I pick dare."

Kid stared at her for a moment then looked away and mumbled, "I dare you to kiss the hottest guy in the room."

Liz flushed. "Huh?"

"I said 'I dare you to kiss –"

But Kid never got to finish his sentence because Liz had cut him off by pressing her lips against his. Kid's golden eyes widened as the older Thompson sister kissed him and he blushed furiously when she pulled away and smirked. "Dare completed."

Patti began to cheer, BlackStar and Soul whistled, Tsubaki looked just as embarrassed as Kid did at this public display of affection and Maka just stared at them blankly, wondering if she had just really witnessed an actual, live kiss. _'So_ this _is what goes on in teenager's everyday lives,'_ Maka thought. '_How interesting.'_

"Okay, Maka your turn," Liz said to Maka, bringing the pigtailed girl out of her thoughts. "Truth or dare?"

Maka looked up in thought, what should she choose? The dares, in her opinion, were crazy but everyone was picking them. And what if she picked truth and they asked her something she wouldn't be able to answer? She didn't want to streak down the hallway.

"Dare," she answered shyly.

Liz grinned. "Maka…let's see….hmm I dare you and Soul to switch clothes."

"What?!" Maka and Soul both shouted.

Liz shrugged, "I thought it would be funny. It isn't anything bad, you just have to trade outfits."

"Fine," Soul sighed, standing up from the bed. "Come on, tiny tits, we're going to the bathroom."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Throw over your jeans," Soul called to Maka from his stall.

The two teens were currently in the 3rd floor men's restroom, changing into each other's clothes in separate stalls to carry out Liz's ridiculous dare.

"Here ya go," Maka said as she tossed her jeans over the barrier that divided them and watched through the little slit at the bottom as they landed on the other side. She then got to work on putting on Soul's bright red pants, complaining when they kept sliding off her. "Your pants are way too big for me," she grumbled as she struggled to keep the garment from falling.

"Well yours are too tight," he grunted from his stall. "What are these? Skinny jeans?"

Maka blushed; glad that he couldn't see her face. "Yeah."

"Ugh this sucks!" he moaned. "Well at least you weren't wearing that little skirt that you came in on your first day. Just picture me in a skirt…yeah it's kind of scary."

When they were done they stepped out into the open, revealing to each other what they looked like in one another's clothing.

"This is so uncool," Soul sighed as he looked down at his body that was adorned in Maka's skin tight jeans and purple cat sweater.

"Well I feel like a hobo," Maka said, keeping one hand on Soul's pants at all times to make sure that they didn't fall down. Besides the pants she was also wearing that sweatshirt Soul wore all the time. It was so big on her she felt like she was swimming in it; her hands didn't even come out of the ends.

"You don't look like a hobo," Soul said. "You look cute."

Maka blushed. What had he just said to her? But before she could ask him he had already left to go back to the dorm room.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Dudeeeeee," BlackStar laughed. "You look like a freaking girl!"

Soul and Maka had returned to Liz and Patti's and were now standing in front of their friends, presenting their new looks.

"Shut up, you jerk," Soul snapped. "You don't understand the kind of pain I'm in right now. These skinny jeans are suffocating my balls!"

Kid held back a laugh, "uh well the cat sweater looks nice at least…"

"Maka you look so adorable!" The girls squealed, fawning over the pigtailed girl.

"Maybe you should wear Soul's things more often," Patti laughed.

Everyone was amused except for Soul who yelled at Liz, "What the hell kind of dare was this? I have no feeling down there!" He gestured to the lower half of his body for emphasis.

Liz put her hands up in defense. "Calm down, I'm sure your balls will be fine."

"Why you –"

"Alright, Maka, it's my turn!" BlackStar interrupted Soul. "Gimme a good one kay!"

"Um okay…truth or dare?" Maka asked him.

BlackStar opened his mouth to answer but before he could say anything the door was burst open by Sid.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, stepping inside. "Everyone was wondering where you kids went. Come on it's time to go back to your own rooms for curfew."

"B-but I didn't get to go yet!" BlackStar whined.

Sid raised a brow. "Get to go yet for what?"

"For truth or dare," the blue haired boy told him.

"You kids really still play that game?" the therapist asked in disbelief. "Well if that's the case then you kids better have not been doing anything that you're not supposed to be doing."

"We weren't," the teens chorused, Kid and Liz looking down to hide their red faces.

"Well come on then, let's go," Sid said. "Everyone back to their dorms."

Everyone, excluding Liz and Patti because they were already in their room, hopped down off the bed and headed for the door. And they had almost made it out too before Sid stopped them and barked, "Evans."

Soul turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Why you dressed in drag, boy?"

Soul's ears turned red. "Uh…it was my dare, sir…"

"Jesus Christ," Sid muttered, before walking off down the hallway.

The teens then all began to return to their respective rooms but before Soul could disappear through his oddly painted door Maka stopped him and said, "I should give you back your clothes."

Soul gave her a small smile. "Eh, you keep them for the night. You can give them back to me tomorrow."

And before the blonde could protest he slipped inside his room.

'_Tomorrow huh?' _She thought. And then it crossed her mind._ 'Tomorrow's Saturday!'_

**Author's Note : lolz I love how in this chapter the girls are like "fuck it we're going into the men's room!" Anyway…I hope everyone liked this chapter! It was sooooo much for me fun to write XD**

**About the Truths and Dares….okay the toilet bowl thing actually happened. Not to me though, thank god! But to my girlfriend (yes I have a gf :3 I mentioned earlier in chapter 8 I believe that romance was a brewing in my life and yeahhh things happened XD) I felt bad but it was hilarious! And the clothes switching thing oh my god I dared Sam (I've mentioned my supermegafoxyawesomehot best friend Sam in earlier chapters too I think) and my awkward friend to do that once and let me just say that he looked fabulous in Sam's skinny jeans and sweater :D **

**Dear meghanmoo – I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I'd be thrilled to answer your questions! 1) Maka does eat; everyone in the story eats haha I just sometimes don't write about them eating, it's just sort of implied. 2) The doors! Mawahaha! After the patient moves out the door sadly gets repainted its original white color. **

**To PARADISE.x –First, thank you so much for reading! You review just about every chapter and you rock XD I'm writing you in the author's note because I just needed to say something about your last review..okay…. DID YOUR FRIENDS SERIOUSLY MAKE YOU DO THAT AS A DARE?! That's terrible! *hugs you***

**Thank you for all of the support! You guys are awesome! *throws you the cookies* See you for Chapter 12! GUYS CHAPTER 12 IS SATURDAY. MAKA WILL SOON KNOW THE SECRETSSSSSSS! MAWHAHA! Ookay byeee!**


	12. His Crimson Past

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 12**

**His Crimson Past **

That night, Maka slept better then she had in a long time. Perhaps it was the lack of disturbing nightmares that had made her sleep so pleasant or maybe it was the fact that she had been wrapped up nice and snuggly inside of a certain white haired boy's sweatshirt while she slumbered. She didn't mean to fall asleep in Soul's clothes; honestly she didn't. After their game of truth or dare last night she had tried to return the albino's things to him but he said it could wait till the morning. And since she could wait till morning and since Soul's clothes were so roomy and warm, sleep was inevitable the moment her head hit the pillow.

When Maka woke up the next morning Soul was the first thing that popped into her head. She couldn't help it though, she was wearing his things and breathing in his scent and also today was Saturday. _'He's going to tell me today,'_ she thought, feeling a surge of happiness rush through her. _'Soul's going to tell me the truth.'_

The blonde was giddy with anticipation. She wanted to scream and laugh and run around the dorm in celebration but since her roommate was still fast asleep all she could do was sit in bed and grin like an idiot. A million ideas rushed around inside her brain, inventing different scenarios in which Soul revealed his past to her. She pictured it to be a dramatic event; Soul was very mysterious after all. She imagined them standing in a barely lit hall then him flipping his hair in slow motion like the teen heartthrobs did and saying….What _would_ he say? Maka didn't have any time to think about it because all of a sudden three swift knocks sounded on her door.

The teen rolled out of bed to go see who it was but when she opened the door she found that the hallway was barren; not a person to be seen or heard. Puzzled by this she went back inside and as she did so she discovered that a note had been slid under the crack at the bottom of the door. Picking it up Maka quietly read aloud

_Meet me in the art and music room tonight at 8:00 if you want to know the truth. _

The bottom wasn't signed but it didn't need to be. Maka knew who it was.

After carefully folding up the note Maka returned to bed. Roll call wasn't anytime soon so she might as well follow Tsubaki's example and go back to sleep. But she just couldn't close her eyes, it wasn't possible. All she could do was hide the note inside her journal, lay back on her pillow and stare up at the ceiling in thought. Wondering what the crimson eyed boy had planned.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Soul didn't show up that day. The snowy haired boy was missing from breakfast, lunch and all of the activities in-between and after the two of them. The fact that he hadn't appeared made Maka jittery, she was a bundle of nerves the whole day. Looking at the clock was torture and it seemed like tonight would never come. No one could keep up a conversation with the pigtailed teen because her mind kept flitting about. She felt like a little kid who had come to school on their birthday; going through the entire day with anticipation bubbling in the pit of their stomach because they know that later on when they get home something great will be waiting for them.

Tsubaki had noticed this sudden change in Maka's behavior and asked her at least several times if she was feeling alright.

"Yeah it's nothing," she would quickly reply so that she could go back to her daydreaming.

Dinner was especially painful. Maka could barely eat her macaroni and cheese for the fear that she would throw up from excitement. She was counting down the minutes; only one hundred and twenty left until she learned the truth.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka was chilling in the dorm room with Tsubaki when it was time for her to leave. Gathering Soul's clothes (she figured that she had to return them sometime so it might as well be now) that she had removed and folded earlier that day she headed for the door. But before she could even place a hand on the knob her roommate put down the magazine that she had been reading and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Returning Soul's clothes," Maka replied quickly. Out of the corner of her eye she glanced at the clock on the wall; there were three minutes till 8:00.

"Are you sure you're alright, Maka? You've been acting funny all day," the raven haired girl said.

"I'm fine…just a little anxious is all…" Maka was happy that Tsubaki was expressing concern for her and being a good friend and everything but she had to go. She had been waiting the whole day for this moment and she didn't want to be late.

"Anxious? Do you want to see if Stein has some medicine for that?"

"No, no that's fine," Maka put her hands up to reject the offer. "Listen, Tsubaki, I really have to go…" she said, turning the doorknob and stepping out into the hallway.

"Wait, Maka," Tsubaki said, getting up from her bed and walking over to her. "It's okay if you want to hang out with Soul, really I don't mind. I know that you like him and –"

"Huh? No, Tsubaki, it's not like that I swear. I'm just going to return his things," Maka said with a red face. Seriously, why did Tsubaki keep assuming that she had a crush on Soul?

"You seem to be in a hurry to do so," Tsubaki smiled playfully.

There was one minute left on the clock.

"Look, Tsubaki, I need to go. Like right now," she said urgently.

"Ooh tell me if he's a good kisser!"

"Tsubaki, I'm not doing any of those things!" Maka cried out in exasperation. "I need to go see Soul because he's going to tell me the truth!"

"The...truth?" her roommate asked in confusion.

"The truth about himself, why he's here in the hospital and whatnot," the pigtailed girl explained.

Tsubaki's mouth fell open. "Oh my god you're joking right?"

Maka shook her head no. "I'm not."

"This is amazing," Tsubaki said in awe.

"Yeah and I kind of have to leave or else I won't get to know."

The dark haired girl nodded rapidly. "Alright then go! Leave now!"

Maka smiled and saluted her friend before running down the hall.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The corridor that led to the art and music room was empty, only the sound of Maka's boots filled the air as they clicked upon the linoleum floor. The teen felt shivers ago up her spine as she passed by darkened doorways and for the first time she wondered if Soul was actually going to show up. She knew boys his age, she had spent plenty of time observing them in her high school, and she knew that this set up could very well just be an immature prank.

'_But Soul isn't like those guys,'_ she thought to herself. '_He proves me wrong every time I think that.'_

And then she was standing outside of the designated room, her heart racing as she thought about what awaited her on the other side. _'This is it,'_ she thought as she turned the handle and entered.

The art and music room was dimly lit for only one light had been switched on. Crayons and paintbrushes lay abandoned on the tabletops and vacant chairs had been scattered around them. In the far corner she could see the piano, still and untouched, and then Soul stepped out of the shadows.

"Hey," he greeted.

Maka jumped back in alarm by his entry, she thought that she was alone. "I got your note," she finally said once she had composed herself.

"Obviously. You wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"I can't believe you showed up," Maka said.

"Of course I showed up. Cool guys don't break promises and we made a promise remember," he stuck out his pinky to show Maka that he hadn't forgotten their deal.

"Yeah, I remember."

"And you brought my clothes," the boy nodded, acknowledging the fact that his borrowed garments lay folded in Maka's arms.

"I had to return them sometime," she said simply, walking over and handing them to him.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem."

There was a long pause.

"Well...shall we?" he asked.

Maka nodded and the white haired boy led her to the back of the room where they sat on the piano bench. It was quiet for a while, Soul just running his tan fingers over the smooth ivory keys of the instrument before saying, "Alright, I asked for two days and you gave me two days…I'll tell you everything now."

"Everything," Maka repeated. 'Everything' suddenly felt like a big word to her. It meant that she had been given access to Soul's present, past and future. All she had to do was ask about it.

"Yeah, what do you want to know?" he inquired.

"Okay well first…why did you need me to wait two days before you could tell me?"

Red locked with green as Soul looked her in the eyes. "I had to collect my thoughts," he answered. "Some of these things…I've never told anyone before."

"I'm the first one then?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you choosing me to tell these to?"

"Well, mostly because you begged me to," Soul chuckled. "I don't think anyone was ever so persistent with me. And also because I feel like I can trust you."

Maka felt her face grow hot and she ended up having to look away in embarrassment. "Okay…next question. How did you end up here? …Start from the beginning."

"The very beginning?"

She nodded.

Soul stared at her for a moment then took a deep breath and said slowly, "When I was ten… my older brother died."

Maka gasped; her eyes widening. "I'm so sorry."

Soul shook his head and a heavy silence hung in the air until he said, "His name was Wes and…and he was my best friend. He was a genius with the violin, everybody said so. My parents…they were so proud of him. His talents were extraordinary; he was on a level with his music that I could only dream of reaching." He paused for a while and then said, "He was fifteen, supposed to turn sixteen in a few days when he passed."

"How did it happen?" Maka asked, her voice small.

Soul's gaze was far away. "A car accident, he was driving. He was...Wes was practicing for his learners permit; he was going to get it on his birthday. You see…I was in the car with him when it happened. We were home alone and it was hot out and Wes suggested we go into town for ice cream. I thought we were going to be walking but Wes pulled out the keys and said he was going to drive us. He said he had to practice. And I didn't think anything of it, I was only ten. We got there safely but...but on the way home…he didn't even see the other car coming. I couldn't remember anything after that; all I know is that a few days later I woke up in the hospital. I asked a nurse if she knew where my brother was and if he was okay but…" he trailed off.

"I didn't understand it," Soul told her angrily. "Why had this happened to him, to my brother? He was so talented and cool and it wasn't fair that he was killed when all I had gotten was a few broken ribs and an arm. His life was so much more than mine, he was _so _good at the violin, he was supposed to go places and make people happy with his music…"

He stopped speaking momentarily and Maka allowed him to have a few minutes to himself. The pain that she saw in his eyes was heartbreaking and the teen felt guilty that she was forcing him to relive such terrible memories. Maka was about to open her mouth to tell him that it was okay, that he didn't have to say the rest if he didn't want to but Soul had already started speaking again.

"I was extremely depressed and then I started hearing this voice…this voice that would talk to me and tell me the things that I already knew," he said. "It would blame me for living while Wes had died, it would say awful things to me and I agreed with it. This voice though…it wasn't just there, it had a body too. It was like this little thing living inside of me, inside of my head in a place I call The Black Room. It's a demon; he's red and wears the tux that Wes used to wear for music competitions."

"The demon you drew on your paper that day in art?"

"Yeah…and I told my parents about it a few years later, about the things it told me and the nightmares it gave me and they decided to bring me to the hospital. The doctors said I had schizophrenia, a mental disorder where a person will have auditory and visual hallucinations. Except I don't see anything and I don't hear voices. I hear a voice. Just one. So I refused to believe their diagnosis. I didn't think there was anything wrong with me; even though I heard a voice I was just a normal kid. But no one would listen to me; they just kept poking me with their needles and drugging me up. Eventually…I began to believe what they said, that I had a problem. And that's when I started to cut myself…my wrists and my arms. Seeing myself bleed, bleed like any other person does reminded me that I'm a human. That even though the doctors think I'm a freak I'm still like them at the core. The cutting…I also thought that I deserved it. If Wes had to die then I should at least have some pain too right? My parents found out though and they sent me here…and this is where I've been ever since," he finished.

Maka stared blankly at him for a while, taking in everything he had just said. His dead brother, the voice in his head, him cutting himself in the same spots as her…she began to tremble. "Soul…" her voice was barely a whisper.

"Are you okay? I know it's a lot to take in," he said.

"I- I'm fine" she lied, her forest green eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"You're not fine, you're crying. Oh god why are you crying?" Soul panicked.

Maka couldn't hold herself back anymore; she flung her arms around the boy's neck and began to sob. "I'm so sorry!"She wailed.

"I- It's alright," he told her, a bit taken back by her reaction to hearing about his past. Soul had never comforted anyone before, let alone a girl, but he supposed the right thing to do in this kind of situation would be to hold onto the one crying.

"How can you say that?" Maka cried, looking up into his eyes. "That, what you just told me is awful."

"I know, and it sucks but I'm okay now," he tried to sooth her.

"Do you still cut yourself?" she asked through her tears.

"No," he told her, holding onto her tighter. "I stopped doing that a long time ago. This program helped me a lot and I don't think that way anymore. But I don't look at my cuts as a weakness; I see them more as battle scars that prove how brave I am and what I've been though."

"You're so strong," Maka said as she buried her face in his chest. _'I'm going to become stronger too. My cuts will also be my battle scars one day.'_ She then pulled away from him and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You probably think I'm stupid for crying huh?" she sniffled.

"Actually I think the opposite," Soul told her. "I think it's cool that I know a person who has so much compassion."

Maka nodded and brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. "What else have you figured out during your time here?"

"Well…after a couple hundred sessions or so with Sid I've come to the realization that I have survivor's guilt," Soul said. "And that I cut myself because I was depressed over losing my brother, the things the demon voice and the doctors said to me and because thought that I deserved to feel the hurt I didn't get in that car accident year ago. I also have come to believe, with the help of Sid of course, that this demon who lives in my head might just be an imaginary Wes. An angry, imaginary Wes who's taken this form because he's mad that I survived the crash."

"Oh…" Maka said quietly.

Soul sighed, "Hey are you still upset? I told you I'm fine now so cheer up, you're prettier when you smile."

Maka's almost fell off the piano bench she was so surprised by what he said. Then, as she fought off a blush, she asked, "Um so I have another question."

"Go for it."

"Why do you never show up anywhere?"

"I get really bad headaches a lot. Sharing your head with another thing is strenuous on one's brain," Soul explained.

"So you're not avoiding us?"

"Nah, unless BlackStar's being unbearably irritating," he joked.

Maka giggled and said, "Okay and there's something else I've been wondering about."

"Which is?"

"Can you see the future?"

"Huh? What kind of question is that?" Soul laughed for the first time in forever.

"W-well I just thought because of that one day when we were playing basketball you seemed to know what everyone was going to do…"

"Ohh that," Soul nodded. "Yeah sometimes the demon gives me advice. He's been with me for so long we've kind of learned how to compromise. I think it just trying to be Wes, you know? Older brothers are supposed to look out for their younger brothers, right? When we played that game I knew what was going to happen before it did because the demon was telling me."

"Don't you think that's creepy?" Maka asked.

"Eh I've gotten used to it I guess. But if I didn't have him with me how would I have gotten to your room so fast that night when you started screaming?"

"I honestly can't answer that because I was asleep when you arrived," the pigtailed teen said.

"Also because of him I always know when the best times to sneak up on you are," he poked her.

Maka scowled. "You're a jerk. I told you not to sneak up on me anymore."

"You're just wasting your words, women, you and I both know that I'm still going to do it anyways," he laughed.

The two of them then looked at the clock; it was almost time for curfew. It was amazing how the minutes could fly by so fast. The teens rose from the piano bench and headed for the door but before they left Maka said, "Hey, Soul?"

"Yeah?"

Maka played with her fingers as she said,"Earlier on you said that you feel like you can trust me…why is that? Is it something that the demon made you believe?"

The white haired boy looked at her for a moment before smiling. "No, Maka. It's something that I think all on my own."

**Author's note: Hey guys I'm sorry that this was kind of a rushed chapter at the beginning I just reallllly wanted to get to Soul's story. How did you all like it? The past has finally been revealed, Maka gets emotional over it, and Soul FINALLY calls Maka by her real name! XD Thank you everyone for keeping up with the story, I'm really happy that so many of you are enjoying it! *throws you lovely people cookies* See you guys later for the 13****th**** chapter! :D **

**Dear DummyPerception: A "streak down the hallway" is when you must remove your clothes, yep ALL of your clothes, and run down a hallway of your choosing. **

**Dear S Puff: I don't know if our dearest Crona is even going to be in the story yet since I'm kind of making this thing up chapter by chapter haha. Maybe we'll see him, maybe we won't, however whatever his disorder is shall be a surprise! Mawhahaha!**

**P.S. GUYS THERE ARE LIKE NO MULTICHAPTER BLACKSTAR X TSUBAKI FICS! WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS!**


	13. The Crona Theory

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 13**

**The Crona Theory**

"Sooo how'd it go?" Tsubaki asked Maka upon her return to the dorm.

The blonde shook her head, not sure how to respond to the question. She would answer her roommate if she could but in all honesty she didn't really know how it went. To tell the truth she was actually debating with herself over whether what just happened was real or not. Soul had told her about his past, about the tragic, awful truth that seemed too sad to be real. Maka couldn't even imagine the pain Soul must have felt when he lost his brother or what it was like to always carry around a demon in the darkest parts of his mind. The pigtailed girl flopped down face first on her bed as she thought about how depressing it all was.

"I'm guessing it wasn't good then?" Tsubaki assumed as she eyed her roommate lying hopelessly on her mattress.

Maka sighed and rolled over onto her back. "I don't really understand what you mean by _good_," she said as she stared up at the ceiling. "He talked to me about a lot of things if that's what you mean."

Tsubaki nodded, "that's exactly what I mean. It's really awesome that he was able to speak so openly with you, Maka. Guys don't normally open up about their feelings."

"They don't? Well Soul says he can trust me," she told the dark haired girl.

Tsubaki smiled at her friend in wonder. "I just can't believe he told you why he's here and everything. Not even BlackStar knows and he's Soul's best friend."

"I don't understand it either. He says he trusts me but what have I done to earn that from him?" Maka asked.

"I'm not sure," her roommate shrugged. "Maybe he likes you?"

Maka threw a pillow at her. "Please think realistically, Tsubaki."

She giggled, "I am! Maka, he let you sleep in his clothes last night!"

"He didn't tell me to sleep in them, he told me to return them another time and I just forgot to take them off," Maka said.

"Forgetting to take them off means that you secretly didn't want to take them off which means that you like him back," Tsubaki concluded.

"It was an accident," Maka blushed.

"Sureee it was."

After that Tsubaki said nothing more about the matter and the subject was dropped altogether. They began to talk about other things instead such as their favorite book series and about how Marie totally had a thing for Stein. Maka was glad they switched topics though because while Tsubaki was her friend and everything if the dark haired girl asked for more details and a deeper analysis about what Soul had told her that night she would've had to turn her down. What the white haired boy had shared with her was between the two of them and no one else. _'It's trust,' _Maka thought. _'It's our little secret.' _Tsubaki seemed to get that though without even having to ask, she knew that sometimes people were meant to be kept in the dark about some things.

Before sleep Maka jotted a few things down in her MAKA NOTE. The entry was mostly about Soul and what he had told her and how crazy she thought it all was but it was also about her progress with her depression.

_I haven't seen or heard my Mama and Papa's voices for quite some time now and I feel like being away from all of their yelling is making me more relaxed. The urges I have to cut myself go away when I'm not around them. They're a huge stress factor in my life and although I didn't like this place at first the hospital has grown on me and being here is kind of like a vacation from them…I will admit, the thought of cutting hasn't vanished from my mind just yet. I don't think I'll be able to forget how much it helped me with my pain and how dependent I was on it but I'm going to try. Hearing Soul tell me about his cuts made me want to start fighting. He used to cut in the same places as me, weird isn't it? But I want to become as strong as him and think of these wounds I gave myself as a sign that I'm a survivor. Right now though I don't think I can do that. My cuts are ugly and I'm ashamed of what I've done…but one day maybe I'll be able to come to terms with myself like Soul did. Maybe one day my parents will stop fighting and we'll be happy…but right now I can only dream. Goodnight._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The next day, after Stein had dished out the meds at roll call, Soul and Maka walked to the dining hall together for breakfast. They chatted with one another about this and that on the way there and things were completely normal much to Maka's relief. Even though Soul had just revealed his dark past to her nothing had changed; she didn't look at him like he was eccentric and he didn't talk to her any differently now that she knew. The only thing that had changed was their understanding of one another. Now that Maka was aware of why the snowy haired boy did certain things she was able to relate to him better. It was also nice how when they sat with their friends during meals or group activities they shared little smiles with each other. Trusting smiles that only they knew the reason behind.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Later that night the group had gathered at their usual table ready for a Sunday meal of tacos. BlackStar (no surprise there) was extremely enthusiastic about this dinner and had already shoveled three tortilla shells into his mouth before the other kids had even had a chance to sit down.

"BlackStar, you're getting food everywhere," Tsubaki scolded lightly as she watched the blue haired boy rip apart his Mexican feast with his teeth.

"No, Tsubaki, you don't understand," he said with his mouth full. "They're so good…I think I'm gonna marry one."

"You can't marry a taco, moron," Liz sniped.

"Remember that time Marie said she wanted to marry a toilet?" Patti laughed.

"Marie was only joking Patti," Kid sighed while he dumped the insides of his taco onto his plate and neatly started to arrange its fillings on his tray so that he could eat it as a salad.

"I was only joking about what?" Marie suddenly asked.

The entire group turned to see that the girl's therapist was standing behind their table watching them.

"About that time you said you wanted to marry a toilet," Soul told her.

Marie groaned, "Seriously, guys? That was at last year's New Year's Eve party and I was a little tipsy –"

"Tipsy?!" BlackStar shouted, cutting her off. "Man, you were so drunk that night you –"

"OKAY, OKAY," Marie quickly interjected, silencing the bluenette. "Let's talk about the reason I came over here, shall we?"

"Okay," the group chorused.

"It's Liz's turn to pick the movie tonight and I was just coming over here to let her know," Marie said.

BlackStar groaned and slammed his hands down on the table in protest. "No way! Ox got to choose the movie last week and he picked that shitty documentary _Oh, how they dry! – a comparative study of wall paints_ and now we have to sit through one of Liz's chick flicks?"

"I didn't even pick yet," Liz glared at him. "How do you know I'm going to choose a chick flick?"

"Because you _always_ choose chick flicks," he complained.

"_Please_, Kid has picked more chick flicks than me."

"Hey! _Mean Girls _is a good movie!" cried the OCD boy.

Maka turned to Soul and asked, "What's going on?"

"Sunday night is movie night and if you want to be able to pick you have to put your name in a raffle," Soul explained.

"So Liz won then?"

"Seems to be that way," he nodded. "Unfortunately what we're allowed to watch is very limited."

"It's for good reason," Marie said to the two of them. "No drugs, violence or sex. We don't want to trigger anything in the patients."

Just then Stein came over to the group, his chunky boots clonking along and his metal headgear clattering. "Hey, Marie, we need to order some more Valium and Ativan for Crona," he said.

"Alright, I'm coming," the therapist nodded then left the kids to go with the medicine man.

Once she had gone Kid said, "You know I've never seen him…Crona I mean."

"Yeah I haven't either," said Soul. "He just stays inside his dorm all day."

"The staff has to go inside his room to give him his food," Liz told them.

"And his pills!" Patti added.

"I feel kind of bad," Tsubaki sympathized. "We've all been here for so long and we've never even made an effort to try and talk to him...what if he's lonely?"

"Tsubaki, if he was lonely he would be out here eating dinner with all of us instead of staying inside that depressing room of his," BlackStar shot down her idea.

"I don't think that's true..." Maka said quietly.

Everyone turned to look at her and the pigtailed girl blushed as she spoke up a bit louder and said, "Well just think about it. He obviously has a lot of issues right? Maybe he is lonely and maybe he _does_ want to be around other people… but he just can't because of his disorders."

"Well still…" BlackStar said. "He's definitely crazy if he doesn't want to come out of his room and chill with me. What do you think he has anyway?"

"Social anxiety?" suggested Liz.

"A phobia of kids his age?" wondered Kid.

"I bet he sparkles," sighed Patti as she looked off into the distance.

"You know what?" said BlackStar, jumping up from the table. "Who even cares about this kid? Come on let's go hang out before the movie." He began to wave everyone up out of their seats as he dashed towards the door.

The group began to rise from the table; throwing away the scraps of their dearly departed tacos before going over to join BlackStar.

As Maka tossed her empty tray into the trash bin Soul asked, "You coming?"

She shook her head. "I'll be there later, I need to shower first."

"Okay," he nodded. "Later."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Steam swirled around Maka and bubbles slid off her skin as she stepped out of the shower stall. The blonde let out a relaxed sigh, content at being clean, then went over to the counter where she had left her things and began dry off. After changing into her favorite pair of pajamas Maka began to brush out her wet hair, humming at ease as she did so. She had grown accustomed to bathing at night. It was so comfortable not having to worry about the other girls and what they might think of her undeveloped body and she didn't need to live in fear that someone would see her cuts. The cuts though, one day she hoped to gain enough confidence to reveal them; to finally be able to shave her legs and not be self-conscious of the marks on her arms and wrists. But for now everything was good, it was just her and the vast emptiness of the third floor shower room. She was completely alone…or so she thought. Just then she saw something flash behind her in the mirror. Blinking in surprise she swiftly turned her head just in time to see one of the shower stall doors slam shut.

Maka frowned. ""Um hello?" she called out.

There was no answer and for a moment Maka thought she had only imagined it until the shower head turned on.

"Who's there?" Maka asked, starting to feel a little unsettled. "Tsubaki?"

Again there was no answer.

"How come you won't answer me?" Maka questioned.

When there was still no response the teen began to shake and BlackStar's creepy story about that insane patient suddenly popped into her head. _'Come on, Maka,'_ she thought. _'Be brave now, okay? It's what Soul would do.'_

The blonde cautiously began to approach the shower stall with the running water. "Okay whoever's in there better come out or answer me," Maka said in her bravest voice. The teen swore that she heard someone squeak inside of the stall and then, with more confidence, demanded, "Alright, who's in there?"

Without warning the door suddenly burst open and a very scared pink haired boy who was soaking wet crashed into her. At the impact they both toppled down onto the title floor where the two of them then began to shriek.

"What are you doing in here!?" Maka screamed at the kid, scrambling to get back on her feet. "This is the _girl's_ room!"

"I'm s-so sorry!" cried the boy who was holding onto his towel (at least he was smart enough to put on a towel before rushing out) for dear life.

"Oh my god you're naked!" Maka panicked as she paced back and forth in front of him.

"I don't know how to deal with being n-naked!" he sobbed.

"Who are you!?" she asked.

"Crona!" he wailed. "Please don't scream at me, I don't know how to deal with screaming."

"Okay, okay I'll stop scream– wait…did you just say you're name was Crona?" Maka asked in disbelief.

"Y-yeah," he wept.

Maka stared at him. He still hadn't gotten up from the ground and was currently lying in a fetal position while crying and clutching onto his towel. _This _kid was the mysterious Crona that her friends kept making speculations about? Well…at least they were right about the color of his hair. He looked so weak, so scrawny and helpless lying there like that. Maka began to feel bad for scaring him. Kneeling down beside him she said, "It's okay don't cry, I'm sorry."

Crona looked at her with the palest eyes she had ever seen. They were so lifeless and untrusting. "Huh?" he sniffled.

"I said I was sorry…you know, for startling you like that. And I'm sorry for yelling at you for being in the girl's shower room," she apologized.

"I was in here because I don't know how to deal with the boy's shower room. The boys seem big and scary and I wanted to be in here where it's calm and quiet and safe during the night," he told her, his eyes still teary.

"Well if you feel more comfortable in the girl's room then I guess that's all that really matters," Maka gave him a soft smile.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?" he suddenly became defensive. "What are you doing with your mouth, I-I don't know how to deal with it."

"I'm only smiling, Crona," Maka told him calmly.

"Smiling?"

"It's what someone does to show another person that they like them," she explained.

"I don't know how to deal with a person liking me," he said uneasily.

Maka stood up from the ground and looked at him, alarmed to find that she had been just like him before she had arrived at the hospital. He was so scared of everything, of the people around him and Maka wanted to help. She stuck out a hand to him. "My name's Maka, I'm a patient here."

He looked at her hand curiously. "Huh?"

"You're supposed to take it," she said.

"Take it?"

"Yeah, what do you say, Crona? Will you be my friend?"

The pinkette blinked and nervously took her hand. Maka then pulled him up so that he was standing on his feet. They looked at each other and Maka gave another smile. And then, when Crona timidly returned it, it his towel dropped.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"You smell good," Soul complemented Maka later that night.

"Thanks it was the shower," she told him.

They were in the T.V. room watching _Finding Nemo_, the movie that Liz had chosen, squished into each other on the couch because the majority of the troubled teens had shown up for the film and there was barely any room to sit. Due to the huge turnout, Maka was kind of glad that Crona hadn't attended. The pigtailed teen had asked him to go but he had refused and now after seeing the crowd she realized that it was for the best. Crona could barely handle being with _her_ let alone a giant group of teenagers. The poor kid would have been so overwhelmed. But it was a process Maka had to remind herself. No one got better just like that. Helping Crona was going to take some time.

"So…I met Crona today in the showers," Maka said to Soul in a quiet voice so that the people around them wouldn't hear.

"You _what_?"

"Shh," Maka brought a finger to his lips to silence him.

"You met the crazy, psycho, never-leaves-his-room, pink haired boy in the _shower_?" he whisper screamed.

"It's a long story and he's not a crazy psycho, he's really sweet and just scared of people," she told him.

"That's just…wow," Soul breathed. "That must have been interesting."

"It was."

"I wanna meet him," he told her.

"Maybe you can."

"Really?"

"Yeah, because I'm going to help him."

**Author's Note: Hey guys I hope you liked the update! Yayyyy Crona's finally in the story! He's male in this fic just because he is and so I'm sorry to those of you who like femCrona. Also, I'm sorry if this chapter isn't very well developed, I had a lot of stuff going on while I was writing it so if its sucky I apologize. Okay sooo on a final note…the holidays are coming up as we all know so if my update times get a little crazy I am deeply sorry! I really do hope you like chapter 13 and I'll see you all soon! *tosses the cookies to you guys* **

**P.S. IT'S MY MOM'S AND CIEL PHANTOMHIVE'S BIRTHDAY! XD (guys if you do not know who Ciel Phantomhive is you should go look him up immediately because DAMN he is hot!)**


	14. Glow Stick Party

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 14**

**Glow Stick Party**

It was raining. Monstrous thunderclouds swirled above the institution and refused to leave. Everything outside was gray and cold, water droplets hitting loudly against the window panes and making them foggy as they ran down the glass and off the building. It seemed as if the whole place would wash away. The stormy conditions had made the troubled teens groggy. The lively atmosphere that was usually present at breakfast was absent, everyone was on energy saving mode. Even BlackStar had changed with the weather. The blue haired boy who was normally jumping about and causing a commotion was quiet, simply eating his food with a tired expression.

"What's with everyone?" Maka asked Soul while she sent an especially concerned look towards BlackStar. "Does the rain really put everyone that out of it?"

The albino nodded, too drowsy to actually open his mouth and speak. And then, confirming Maka's question, Liz threw up her breakfast.

Soon after the staff had taken the elder Thompson sister away to clean her up Soul put his head down on the table and began to groan in pain.

"What's wrong?" Maka asked.

"Headache," was his reply.

"Is it him?" she asked, referring to the demon.

"Yeah, he doesn't like rain…I'm going to go back to my room and sleep for a while," he told her as he wearily rose from his seat.

"Alright," she nodded understandingly. "Feel better."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Some people, especially the people we have here at the institution, are sensitive to the changes in the weather," Marie explained to Maka later during their session. "Rain can make people sleepy, irritated, depressed… and when you're dealing with adolescents who have mental disorders, well, the affects are more extreme."

"So you're saying that whenever it rains all the patients get really moody?" Maka questioned.

Marie nodded. "We don't really have a schedule when it rains. Usually we'll just put on movies in the T.V. room and let the kids sleep, whatever makes them feel more relaxed."

Maka let this sink in; starting to feel a little blue herself as she thought about how awful her friends must be feeling. Suddenly Crona found his way into her mind. The strange, scrawny boy she had encountered in the shower room last night…how was the rain impacting him? She could see it right now, Crona all alone in his dark room, shivering under a blanket in fear without anyone to brace the storm with. "I hope Crona's alright," the words accidentally slipped from her mouth.

Marie raised a brow in confusion. "Did you just say Crona?"

Maka coughed. "I...uh…yeah."

"You know Crona?"

"I ran into him last night," she told the therapist. "We met in the girl's showers."

"Oh I'm sorry if that frightened you, him being in the girl's showers," Marie apologized, looking incredibly embarrassed. "I gave him permission to go there; it makes him more comfortable you see–"

"No, no, it's completely alright," Maka assured her. "I was…I was just wondering why he's so afraid of people. She paused for a moment then said, "I know you might not know everything because Sid's his therapist but–"

"Actually, Sid's not his therapist," Marie revealed. "Crona sees me instead because he refuses to talk to Sid; it has to do with something about him not being able to deal with big, muscular guys."

"Well that's great," Maka lit up. "You can tell me about Crona now."

Marie shook her head no. "I'm not supposed to give that information out. If he wants to tell you it's one thing but I'm not allowed. It's against our policy here. Words that patients exchange with their therapists are kept secret."

"I want to help him though," Maka told her. "I decided last night after we met that I needed to do something and now, just thinking about him being alone during the rain…well I feel terrible."

"I know you do," Marie sympathized with the teen. "But if you go to his room to talk chances are he's not going to want to see you. Crona…Crona is a _very _fragile person. If you handle him a certain way he'll crack."

"But last night, last night I told him that I'd be his friend," said Maka, still strong-minded. "And then we shook hands and he even smiled. I _have_ to help him, Marie… he reminds me of myself."

The therapist stared at her patient for a while with unblinking caramel eyes before letting out a small chuckle. "You know, Maka," she began. "After our first session I knew that you were something else. You're such a smart girl, very determined and well, amazing, considering that you're looking to help others when you yourself haven't been completely healed." She stopped and gave a small smile before saying, "Alright, I'll tell you a few things but nothing personal…Crona, which you've probably already guessed, doesn't have just one problem. He suffers from a lot of things; anxiety, depression (like yourself), posttraumatic stress disorder…the list goes on. He doesn't know how to adapt, Maka. He's afraid of new environments, new people, just anything new basically. Getting through to a person like him is hard; he barely even talks to his Aunt Eruka."

"Aunt? Where's his mom?" Maka asked.

Marie gave her a that-topic-is-off-limits look before saying sadly, "it really is awful. If you want my job you have to be prepared for the things you're going to hear but sometimes…anyway, that's really all I can share with you."

"Crona's gone through a lot huh," Maka said softly.

"Yes and I know you have good intentions but the possibility of you changing him in the short amount of time you have left at the hospital, I'd say you have less than a 1% chance," Marie told her.

The pigtailed girl nodded resentfully, hating to accept something she didn't want to be true, and then stood from her seat. The session was over and it was time to leave Marie and her pretty little office and head back to the other troubled teens.

"Don't be angry with me, Maka," Marie said to her on her way out.

"I'm not angry at you," the teen said truthfully. It wasn't Marie's fault things were this way. It wasn't Marie's fault or hers or Crona's. She wasn't upset with a person, she was upset with the universe and how unfair it was. Why did people have to go through such terrible things? Why did people have to deal with depression and anxiety, schizophrenia and eating disorders? Why were people denied a happy life for something that they never wanted? As she sullenly left the office a rumbling flash of light suddenly zipped down from the heavens and crashed against the earth. Patients began to scream in fear of the lightning and the staff rushed around trying to calm everyone down. In the midst of the panic Maka found herself thinking about Crona again, a pink haired boy quivering under the covers of his bed, and she just hoped that she could prove her therapist wrong.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Although the downpour continued steadily Soul's headache was better by dinner and he decided to meet up with Maka on the food line.

"You okay?" she asked, as she piled her tray high with mashed potatoes.

"Yeah," he nodded, shoveling French fries onto his plate. "The throbbing is gone and I finally got it to shut up."

Maka looked at him curiously. "What was it saying to you?"

"I _don't_ even know," he sighed and shook his head. "He kept saying 'rain makes things slippery' or some shit like that."

"Wait…_what_?" Maka laughed, as they got off the line and started over to their table.

"Maka, half the things he says doesn't have any meaning," Soul told her as they walked. "Back then he used to insult me but now it's either he's giving me advice or he's just bothering me on purpose with a bunch of random crap."

"And he won't go away? Ever?"

"Nope. I've asked him to but he's fucking annoying and refuses to listen to me."

"But…" Maka stopped walking. "If…If he's in your mind doesn't that mean you have control over him? He's made out of your memories and thought of Wes right? Can't you just make him disappear anytime you wanted?"

"It's not that easy, he's…oh no," Soul said, looking up at the ceiling.

"What?" Maka asked.

The white haired boy brought a hand to his forehead and held it there as he let out a moan of pain. "The power's going to go out," he said.

There was an earsplitting humming sound and then everything went black.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Panic set in among the troubled teens. With the lights gone shrieks erupted out of the darkness and the mess hall turned into chaos. Patients began to run around blindly looking for help and the staff tried their best to keep them from smashing into one another.

After a moment of searching Soul found Maka's hand and pulled the pigtailed girl close to him. "Don't move," he said, "Someone might crash into you." Soul then lead her to a nearby table where they put their trays down and sat, hoping to wait out the mayhem.

"Everyone remain calm!" somebody ordered. It was a female voice that Maka soon recognized as Nygus. "Please just find your way to the nearest table and take a seat!"

The head nurse's demanding tone grabbed everyone's attention and slowly but surely the commotion ceased. Everyone in the dining hall was now silent and sitting at a table, waiting for further instruction.

"We're just having some problems with the electricity," Nygus told the group. "There's been a storm all day so it's not surprising the lights went out. Give it a few minutes and I'm sure our staff will have things up and running in no time."

Suddenly there was the sound of the cafeteria's doors being flung open and a male voice announced, "The storm damaged our electrical transmission lines."

There was a murmur throughout the room. "What's that mean?" some kid shouted.

"Children this is Mr. Joe Buttataki, our errand/coffee/handyman guy, I'm sure you've all seen him around," Nygus said to everyone.

Maka nodded (which was pointless because there was a blackout and no one could see her do it) in understanding. She remembered seeing Joe on her first day at the institution during her session with Marie. He was one of her therapist's many ex-boyfriends.

"You guys all heard that big humming noise before right? Well that was the sound of our wires frying," Joe continued on. "Now normally if the electrical power goes out the hospital is supposed to automatically switch over to generators downstairs and run on those but for some reason they won't start up. I already called a repairman on my cell and he should be here in either a few hours or the morning."

The troubled teens began to protest, saying how they couldn't wait that long for the lights to come back. "Everyone hush!" Marie's voice rose over theirs. "We all need to stay organized and be patient so for now everyone should go back to eating their dinners and the staff should go look for flashlights or anything else that will be able to provide us with light."

"Ooh! I have a flashlight!" a loud, arrogant voice called out from across the room. A dim light suddenly flickered on and everyone turned their heads towards the source, BlackStar.

Marie stumbled through the darkness over to the blue haired boy and took the light from him. "Thank you, BlackStar," she said appreciatively. "This will help us get started." The girl's therapist then guided a group of adults out into the hall where they would begin their scavenge and left the teens and the cafeteria workers behind to eat their food in the dark.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Dinning in the pitch black sucked because Maka didn't know where anything was. The blonde accidentally stabbed Soul with her fork each time she attempted to eat her salad and after confusing the albino's salmon for her chicken she gave up on dinner completely. With a sigh she turned in her chair to face her friend. If they were going to be stuck in a dark cafeteria with one another and not eat then they might as well talk.

"The demon told you about the lights?" Maka guessed.

"Yeah," he responded and although Maka couldn't see his facial expression when he said it she could hear in his voice that he wasn't proud.

"Doesn't it scare you?" she asked. "Being able to know these things?"

"No I've gotten used to it all. I told you that the other night remember?" Soul said.

"Yeah I remember. But still…it would scare me."

Just then the doors to the mess hall suddenly burst open and the team that had set out to find flashlights came flooding back into the room. "Hey guys good news!" said a voice that belonged to Dr. Stein. "I was looking around for some lights down in storage and I found a crate of glow sticks!"

"….why do we have those?" asked Nygus.

"Why not?" came his reply.

"Alright so I just talked to the staff on the other levels of the institution," Sid told everyone. "They're all good with flashlights so there's no need to worry about them."

"That's good," Marie nodded. "Okay so we have a total of 6 flashlights, 2 big lantern things and a crate of how many glow sticks…?"

"There's about a hundred," Stein said.

"And a crate of a hundred glow sticks," Marie finished her sentence.

"Oh and I found an old radio in one of the offices," Joe said, placing a bulky music system on one of the tables. "I just tested it out and it runs on battery and it picks up all the radio stations nearby."

"Okay so we have an odd assortment of lights and music…what do we do now?" Nygus asked.

BlackStar jumped up on one of the tabletops and yelled, "We have a kick-ass party!"

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Once every kid in the dining hall had been given at least 3 glow sticks Marie turned on the radio and blasted the music through the speakers. What everyone thought would be a disastrous night without power turned into something enjoyable, the rain pouring down outside long forgotten as the troubled teens took to the floor and began to dance.

Tsubaki and Maka tried to tango with one another (the enormous height difference between the two girls making it rather difficult) and Kid gave it his best shot at hip hop. BlackStar turned out to be an incredible break dancer; he was spinning and doing crazy flips all over the place. Liz and Patti moved like they were at a club, the elder Thompson sister unknowingly seducing a certain OCD boy as she pop locked and dropped. And Soul, well, Soul wasn't very involved. As soon as the party started he sat down at a table nearby claiming that events like these weren't really his thing. Only when a slower song came on he got up, walking over to Maka and asking if she wanted to dance.

Maka blushed at his request. "Like, a slow dance type thing?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "You want to?"

"I…I'll probably step on your feet," Maka said, looking down at her shoes. For some reason she was getting nervous, her heart had sped up and she felt dizzy.

Soul chuckled and took her hand. "My feet will be fine."

Maka felt her stomach drop as he led her out onto the floor. _'Calm down,'_ she scolded herself, _'it's just Soul.'_ But as he put his hands on her waist and began to move the two of them her pep talk was completely forgotten. Maybe she felt this way because she had never slow danced with a boy before. It was strange though because she wasn't in love with Soul or anything…so… why did she feel like this?

"Ouch," he suddenly said.

Maka quickly let go of the white haired boy and took a step back. Her fear had come true; she had crushed Soul's toes. "I'm really sorry," she apologized.

"Its fine," he assured her. "I can tell you're new to slow dancing."

"How do you know how to dance like this?" the pigtailed girl questioned.

"I grew up in the northern part of Death City; everyone there knows how to dance."

"Ooh so you're a rich kid huh," Maka mused.

"I come from a family of musicians," Soul told her, taking her hands again and resuming their dance.

"Is that why you and Wes both played instruments?" She asked as they swayed to the music.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I wish I could hear you play the piano again," Maka said to him hopefully.

"You only heard me that day by chance," he said as he spun her.

"So you wouldn't play it again for me?"

"I don't play much anymore…not since the accident."

Maka nodded and let the subject drop, she knew her limits and this was where she had to stop. For the rest of the song they danced in silence, just letting their minds wander. Suddenly Maka's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

"What!?" Soul jumped at her sudden outburst

"I need to go to Crona," she panicked.

"Huh?"

"He's all alone and there are no lights and he's probably really scared. Come on, Soul, let's go get him," she said, taking off across the floor while holding Soul's hand.

"Wait a minute, Maka!" the albino shouted as she dragged him along. The pigtailed girl wouldn't listen to him though; she just kept on pushing through the crowd of glow stick clad teens until they reached the exit.

"Marie and the rest of the staff probably won't want leaving so we'll have to make this fast," Maka said. "We'll slip out, get Crona and come back before they even realize we're gone."

"Maka...I don't really think he's gonna want to come with us," the snowy haired boy said. "He'd probably be much happier by himself then with a big group like this."

"But you said you wanted to meet him," Maka tried to persuade him.

"Yeah but I don't think this is the best time."

"Please, Soul…I want to help him." The blonde gave him a pleading look with her bright green eyes.

The boy turned away from her puppy dog face and sighed. "Alright, let's go get him."

Maka grinned and opened the door of the mess hall. The two of them then slipped out of the chemiluminescencely***** lit room and into the darkness.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"It's really creepy not having any lights," Maka said to Soul as they journeyed to Corna's room. "I feel like someone's going to jump out any minute."

"Yeah, I know what you–" Soul smacked into a wall, "Goddamn it this is the 3rd fucking wall I've hit!"

The glow sticks weren't very strong; the field of view they allowed the teens to see was only a few steps ahead of them so they had to be careful where they ventured. After turning the corner they finally reached the corridor where the dorm rooms were. Slowly making their way down the hall they came to a stop in front of the plain white door with the scribble that read CRONA.

Maka gave a few knocks on the door. "Crona, it's Maka," she called. "We met yesterday remember?"

No answer.

She kept on knocking. "Crona, please come out."

A small voice came from behind the door. "I can't see anything it's too dark," Crona trembled.

"Okay calm down I'm coming in right now," Maka told him, turning the knob and entering the dorm.

Using the light of their glow sticks Maka and Soul discovered Crona curled up in a corner. The pinkette had been crying, tears stained his pale face and his eyes were bloodshot. Rushing over to him Maka pulled the boy into a tight hug, promising that things would be okay.

"The power went out," she told him. "But there are a lot of lights in the dining hall."

"Lights like these?" he asked as he timidly touched one of the glow sticks.

"Yeah, a bunch of glow sticks and flashlights, there's even a radio," Maka said with a smile. "You don't want to sit alone in the dark do you? You should come with us."

"Us?"

The pink haired boy suddenly noticed that Soul was in his room too. He stiffened in fear and cowered behind Maka. "W-who's that?" he stammered.

"Crona, this is my friend Soul," the blonde introduced the two boys to one another.

Soul gave the friendliest smile he could think of. "Um hey," he greeted.

Crona started to shake. "Maka, why are his teeth pointy? I don't know how to deal with pointy teeth!"

"It's okay," the blonde shushed him. "He may have scary teeth but he's a very nice person. So...will you come with us? We really want you to be there."

"Are there other people where the lights are?" he questioned.

Maka and Soul glanced at each other. "Well…yes," Maka answered.

Crona covered his face with his hands. "I'll just stay here then," he said.

"But it's dark here," she tried to change his mind. "I don't want you to be stuck in the dark."

"I don't know how to deal with other people," Crona sniffled. "I won't go."

Maka sighed and opened her mouth to say something else but Soul stopped her. "Come on, Maka, let's head back."

"But what about Crona?"

Soul handed the pinkette one of his glow sticks. "He can have this," he said. "But we should get going."

Maka tried to protest but before she could Soul took her hand and led her out of the room and back down the hall.

"Soul, let go of me! We can't just leave him, we have to keep trying," she pleaded, struggling to get away so that she could go back to Crona.

"He'll be fine, Maka."

"_Fine?" _she snorted. "He's not _fine_ he's scared!"

"Seriously he'll be fine."

"And why's that? Because he has that one glow stick?"

"No."

"Then why?" she demanded to know.

Suddenly there was another loud humming and the Death City Mental Institution for Troubled Teens lit up like a Christmas tree.

He smirked. "That's why."

**Author's Note: Hellooooooo everyone how were your holidays? My Christmas was especially fabulous, I got wigs and cosplay and fuzzy socks XD This chapter is my gift to all of you, we got some Soma stuff going on and ma baby (Crona) made a reappearance sooooo I'm crossing my fingers that you guys are happy with the 14th installment of Matching Scars. I must go now my lovely readers, I have A LOT of school work to finish :p I shall see you all for the next update! Goodbye! *fades away from the computer***

**Chemiluminescencely* If anyone read this word and was like "ummm what?" I shall tell you here what it means. Okay, glow sticks give off a type of light called chemiluminscence, and there you have it! :D **


	15. Family Reunion

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 15**

**Family Reunion**

With the power restored and the never-ending rainfall finally coming to a stop the hospital returned to its regular state; schedules were back up and running and the patients became their wacky selves again. It amazed Maka, the things that Soul could know. How he could predict the future by using a figment of his imagination. When the lights came back on she was relieved; thankful that Crona wouldn't have to be scared anymore. But when Maka heard the news Marie had to tell her the next morning at breakfast she was left wishing that they were still sitting in the dark.

"_You're parents are visiting today at 11:00," the therapist had told her._

_Maka nearly choked on her eggs and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "What?" she asked, hoping that she had heard Marie wrong. _

"_They're driving in to check up on you and see the progress you're making," she said. _

"_Tell them to save their gasoline. I don't want to talk to them," the pigtailed teen said coldly. _

_Marie gave a sad smile. "I'm afraid you're going to have to, Maka. As your legal guardians they have every right to see you." And then she turned away to leave, reminding Maka not to be late as she did so._

Maka was now pacing back and forth across the dorm as Tsubaki sat on her bed trying to calm her down.

"Maybe it won't be so bad, Maka," the dark haired girl said, trying to look on the bright side of things. "Maybe they've changed."

"Yeah right," Maka stormed. "I bet they haven't even spoken to the marriage consular yet. As soon as they got back home Papa probably went out to the bar and Mama went to work. They don't care about anyone but themselves."

"They might not get along with each other but surely they care about you," Tsubaki said. "You're their only child; you must be a big part of their lives."

Maka shook her head and bit her lip as she struggled to keep herself from crying. It was so unjust, everything about the relationship she had with her parents was just so wrong. Parents were supposed to be the people that you could turn to no matter what. If Maka didn't have that then where did she stand? Being at the hospital, once she had gotten used to it, was incredible. Being surrounded by problematic kids like herself made her feel like she belonged. Maka had made friends here; she learned her faults and how to work on fixing them and how to open up to people. The institution had become her sanctuary. But the thought of her parents coming, invading her safe place…Maka felt that shameful longing for a blade.

"Oh don't cry," her roommate pleaded, reaching out for Maka's hand.

Maka took it and Tsubaki pulled her onto the bed and hugged her. The two girls then sat like that; embracing each other until the tears had passed and it was time for Maka to go.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka sullenly walked down to Marie's office, her heart thudding in her chest. Were her parents already there or would she be the first to arrive? What would they ask her? Would they be changed people? She held her breath as she entered the therapist's room.

"Maka, you're right on time," Marie acknowledged cheerfully as the teen walked in.

Maka gave a curt nod and scanned the area. They weren't here yet, it was just her and Marie for now. Taking a seat in the leather patient's chair the teen began to nervously play with her hair. Full of jitters she kept eyeing the door.

"They're running late," Marie told her, noticing where Maka's attention kept wandering. "I don't know where they are."

Maka felt her stomach drop at these words. Had they forgotten? Was she not important enough to visit? '_Why do I care if they come or not,'_ she thought to herself bitterly_. 'Do I actually want them to love me? Do I secretly want to forgive them and have us become a real family?'_ Her thoughts were interrupted as a redheaded figure suddenly burst through the door and flung himself towards her.

"Makaaa! Your Papa missed you so much!" Spirit cried, hugging his daughter tightly.

Kami followed in behind him and joined the reunion. "Hi, Honey," she said affectionately, kissing her child's forehead.

The teen thought this whole exchange between them was awkward. Even though they were acting all loving Maka could see that they were both trying hard not to screw up in front of Marie and look like bad parents.

"Hello," Marie then said to them, shaking their hands like they did when they first met. "It's good to see you both."

"Nice to see you too," Spirit nodded. "How's my Maka been? You haven't had any trouble with her I hope."

"If you'd just take a seat we'll get right into that," Marie said, gesturing to two chairs in the corner of the office that had been added for the meeting.

Once Spirit and Kami had dragged over the chairs and took their places in front of her desk Marie pulled out her note pad and started the session.

"When Maka first arrived here she was very withdrawn," Marie began. "Is this surprising to you?"

"Not really," Spirit said. "My Maka's never been very social; but I believe it's because she's so focused on being the top student at her school."

"Don't you think that a teenager would feel lonely if they directed all their attention towards school, Mr. Albarn?" Marie asked.

"Um, well…I –"

"Don't you think that social interaction is healthy for people?"

"Yes of course," Spirit agreed. "I've always wondered why Maka never went out or had anyone over but I just assumed it was because she was shy."

"She was shy at first. From what I've observed she would hesitate and stutter a lot in her speech and wouldn't be as involved in conversations with the other kids, but over a very short amount of time she opened up and now she's quite popular amongst the teens."

"Really?" Spirit and Kami asked simultaneously.

"Yes and there's this one patient here who has _many_ disorders and barely leaves his room, but your daughter has managed to befriend him," Marie told them. "So despite what you've seen, Maka is actually a very caring and friendly person."

"Is this true, Maka?" Kami asked, turning to her daughter. "I'm so proud of you."

Maka didn't say anything and Marie quickly stepped in, carrying on the discussion so things wouldn't become tense.

"When Maka began to open up to her peers more she also began to talk more with me. The problems she's been having are directly associated with her home environment….Azusa said that she would be sending the two of you to a marriage counselor right?" Marie questioned. "Have you looked into that that yet?"

Kami nodded. "We've been there twice already."

"And how do you think it went?" the therapist asked.

"We talked about our relationship and how it affects Maka," Kami said. "We know that Maka hasn't had an ideal life so far. My husband and I argue most of the time and it's not good for our daughter to see that."

"So you're aware that your daughter's depression comes from the two of you then?"

They both nodded.

"So how are you two planning to fix this?" Marie inquired.

"We...Uh..." Spirit muttered.

Kami turned to Maka and gently spoke the words no child ever wants to hear their parent say. "Your father and I are getting a divorce."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka's mind became blank and her stomach twisted into knots. She felt a lump growing in the back of her throat; it was painful and suffocating. The office was suddenly too hot and her body too cold. Maka shivered as the blood rushed to her head, pounding her into her skull. There were so many things she wanted to ask, things she wanted to say to the both of them, to know if she was dreaming or not.

"Is… it my fault?" the teen finally choked out.

Genuine emotions crossed her parent's faces. They looked heartbroken. "Nothing's your fault, Maka," they said to her.

Spirit and Kami moved in to hug her, giving her reassuring touches and kisses to let her know that she wasn't to blame. And as they did this Maka just sat there, shaking as the tears came slowly and then all at once.

"It'll be better like this," Spirit told her, wiping a tear from his own eye. "You won't have to see us fight anymore."

"We're sorry," Kami said as she stroked Maka's hair.

Maka ignored them and wearily stood up from the patient's chair. Her legs felt like they would give away at any moment as started towards the door.

"Wait, Maka, come back here," called Spirit.

"Let's talk about this some more," said Kami.

Maka clenched her fists as she turned back around to face them. "You know," the teen began. Her voice was broken and her heart too worn out to carry on. "I thought that when all this was over we could be a real family, but once again I set my expectations too high...you two only care about yourselves."

"Maka –" Kami tried to say.

"You don't know what you've put me through," Maka cut her off. "That night when I took those pills, it was because of you two. You made me hate myself so much..."

"Maka, please –"

"Shut up! What can you even say to me!? The two of you have never been there for me before and it's too late to start now," she sobbed. "Just do me a favor and stay away from me!"

"Maka!"

But she had already fled from the room, too tired to hear anymore empty promises and lies.

**OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Tears blurred Maka's vision as she dashed through the corridors. The pigtailed teen was so discombobulated that she didn't even see Soul until she smashed into him and sent them both flying to the floor.

"Ugh so uncool, Maka," the albino groaned as he lay sprawled out on the floor. "You should really look where you're going –wait…are you crying?" Soul immediately stood up and went over to his friend who had curled up against the wall in a fetal position.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked her. "In my defense it was _you_ who ran into me."

"You didn't hurt me I'm fine," Maka sniffled, looking away from him.

"Are you _really_ going to lie to me and say you're fine when we both know you're the exact opposite?" Soul raised a brow.

She sat up from the floor and mumbled, "My parents came to visit…"

"So that's what's got you down huh?"

She nodded and hugged her knees to her chest

Soul looked at her for a moment in thought; those crimson eyes of his plotting something. "I think I have an idea," he said to her.

Maka looked at him. "And what would that be?" she asked.

Soul put a protective arm around her and held her close. "Meet me in the music room tonight at 9:00"

**Author's Note: Hello everyone here is chapter 15! I reallllly hope you guys liked this one because I spent a lot of time on it, you know, working on the dramatic Albarn family moments and such. Anyways, MY BIRTHDAY IS ON SUNDAY! XD I'm turning 16 and I'm super excited! It's also my girlfriend's birthday, she happens to be an hour older than me haha :) Soooo yeahh I need to go and finish all my homework before I celebrate this weekend so I must leave you now. Goodbye readers I'll see you all soon! Also thank you so much for sticking with this story, you guys are the best and I promise that chapter 16 is gonna be realllllllly good if you know what I mean ;) **


	16. Out

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 16**

**Out**

Maka spent the remainder of her parent's visit hiding out in her room. After Soul had escorted her back to the dorm the teen used all of her strength to slide her bed in front of the door, barricading the entrance. Although Spirit and Kami soon discovered her whereabouts and then continued on to call out sweet apologizes Maka refused to hear them. She felt like Crona, isolating herself to avoid her problems. She wasn't proud of it but it was all she could think to do. Her thoughts were too melancholy and her body too tired to face her parents again. Eventually the begging stopped and their ominous presence outside of the room disappeared. They had given up and gone home.

Shortly after Maka put the room back in order Marie came in to speak with her. Sitting down on Tsubaki's bed the therapist said, "Your parents are very upset. Not with you but with themselves."

Maka sat on her own bed, holding a pillow to her chest and resting her head on it. "They should be," she mumbled.

"Maka," Marie began, giving her a gentle smile. "Your parent's marriage wasn't a happy one, you know that don't you?"

The teen felt her eyes begin to water yet again. "Of course, I always knew. They were always fighting and then Papa cheated…" She sniffled and angrily wiped at her nose, frustrated that she was getting so worked up over something she always knew was going to happen.

"It's okay to be sad, Maka," Marie told her.

"I know, I've spent my whole life being disappointed by them…It's just not fair. Things were always bad but how are they going to be now?" Maka looked to Marie for the answers.

"I can't know for sure," she said with a sigh. "All I know is that whatever happens you'll be okay. Your parents both love you, Maka. They might not love each other but you'll always be in their hearts. And this isn't definite but I personally think that this divorce is going to be better for you. You won't be surrounded by anger all the time; you'll be in a more positive atmosphere with both of them separated."

Maka nodded and there was a long silence before the teen carefully asked, "Am I really going back at the end of the week? Out into the world?"

The therapist thought it over. "Everything is up to you," she finally said. "Whatever you choose the Troubled Teens program will be there fully supporting you."

And then Maka felt the urge to cry again, not for her parents, but for Marie's kindness. Once again the therapist had managed to puncture a hole in her heart, a hole that could only be filled by a motherly figure. And when she left, Maka burrowed deep underneath the covers of her bed. Screaming into her pillow about the family she would never get to have.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Tsubaki returned to the dorm later in the afternoon with a cafeteria tray piled high with food. "You missed lunch," she said, setting the dish down on the nightstand. "So I brought you some stuff."

Maka raised a brow. "_Some_ stuff?"

Tsubaki glanced at the plate she had made for her roommate and giggled. "Well I didn't know what you wanted so I just took a bit of everything."

The blonde gave a weak smile. "Thanks I appreciate it...but I'm not really hungry."

Tsubaki plopped down on the bed next to her friend. "The visit was _that_ bad?"

"It was awful," Maka sighed, falling back onto the pillows. "They're getting a divorce."

She gasped. "Maka, I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do –"

"Nothing," the pigtailed girl cut her off. "There's nothing you can do…its okay, it's not your fault."

"I'm worried about you though," Tsubaki expressed her concern.

"I'm fine," Maka lied.

Tsubaki shook her head. "I won't hear any of that. You're obviously stressed out right now; you don't always have to put on a brave face –" She stopped midsentence when something on the floor caught her eye, and then another thing and another thing. "Maka…um why is there a bunch of paper lying around?"

Covering the majority of the ground were crumpled up pages that had been carelessly discarded. Some of the sheets had even been ripped to shreds.

"I was writing poetry in my MAKA NOTE," the smaller girl answered simply.

"Alright…well if you were _really_ okay you wouldn't have gone on a rampage and thrown your poetry all over our room," Tsubaki said.

"I tore my poems out because they weren't any good," Maka responded, trying to prove Tsubaki wrong.

"What were they about?" the raven haired girl asked, changing the subject. She didn't want to get Maka riled up; a fight was the last thing either of them needed.

"My feelings…you know, deep things."

"I didn't know you wrote poetry," Tsubaki smiled, happy that she was learning more about her friend.

Maka blushed. "Yeah I guess…mostly when I'm sad though."

Tsubaki rose from the bed and began to collect the rejected poems. "We should throw these away," she said, looking towards the waste bin that sat in the corner of the room. "So the staff doesn't think we're slobs like Liz and Patti."

Maka chuckled. "Everyone should just give up on being neat because nobody here will ever reach Kid's level."

The two of them shared a short lived laugh then Tsubaki asked, "So what do you want to do? Are you just going to stay here for the rest of the day?"

"Yeah," Maka nodded. "I'm not really in the mood to go do things or talk to people. I kind of just want to rest before tonight."

"What's going on tonight?" the dark haired girl inquired.

"Soul told me to meet him in the music room at 9:00."

"But that's curfew," Tsubaki stated in puzzlement. "Why would he pick such a bad time?"

"I don't know," she said. "What happens if the staff finds you out of your room?"

"You get yelled at by Nygus, which is never fun, and then the next day you have to be Stein's assistant and help him out with his jobs around the building," she replied.

Maka shivered at the thought of spending an entire day by Dr. Stein's side. "I'll make sure not to get caught then."

"Wait…you're seriously going to go?"

"I have to," she said.

"And why's that?"

The blonde thought about the crimson eyed boy and smiled. "Because its Soul."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

It was almost 9:00 when Maka snuck out of the dorm.

"You know what to do right?" she asked Tsubaki before she had left.

"I gotcha," the dark haired girl nodded as she pulled up the comforter on Maka's bed, covering the pillows that would pose as her roommate's sleeping body if anyone of authority checked the room.

Maka quickly made for the corridor that was the fastest route to the art and music room. She was on edge, fearful that Marie or somebody would find her and send her back, so she proceeded with caution. Not letting her guard down until she had reached her destination and slipped in through the door.

"You made it alright?" Soul asked her as she entered the room. The albino was sitting on top of the piano with leisure, hands stuffed into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

Maka nodded, going over to sit with him. "Yeah, it was all clear."

"Good," he said as he scooted over to make room for her atop the instrument. "So are you feeling any better? You know, from earlier?"

The blonde sighed and looked down at the floor. "Not really. My parents tend to leave me in a crappy mood..."

"Well, like I said earlier," Soul began. "I have an idea."

"And, like I asked you earlier, what would this idea be?" Maka questioned.

"We're going into town."

She blinked. "…What?"

"I know it's only a Tuesday night but Death City is the city where no one sleeps. It'll still be a lot of fun even if it is a weekday," the snowy haired boy promised.

"Wait…what?"

"Maka. I. Am. Going. To. Take. You. Out," he said slowly.

"No, no I heard you the first time," she assured him. "It's just, _what?_ Do you realize what you're even saying? The hospital's always on lockdown how would we even get out?"

Soul pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket and grinned mischievously. "With these."

Maka felt her mouth drop open. _"Where did you get those?!"_

He shrugged. "I stole them from Sid's office."

"You have to put them back before he realizes!" the pigtailed girl panicked.

"It's been a year since I nabbed them, Maka. He's not going to notice."

She shook her head. "You're crazy."

"Well, I _am_ in a mental institution," he joked.

"Soul, that's not funny," she frowned. "We can't sneak out of the hospital, they'll kill us."

"Not if they don't know," he said, jumping down from the piano. "I've done this loads of times, it'll be okay."

"I don't know…" Maka looked at him warily.

"Trust me," he said, holding out a hand for her. "You could use a night out."

"Well…" Maka felt her heart pound as she looked at his outstretched hand.

"Please?"

She took it and hopped down. "Okay."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

With all the Troubled Teens inside their rooms for curfew the hallways were bare and silent. Soul and Maka crept along the edges of the walls, prepared to barge into a dorm if there were any signs of an adult approaching.

"The staff is probably in Sid's office. There's a flat screen in there so that's usually where they all hang out afterhours," Soul whispered to Maka as they were nearing the exit.

The two rule breakers then came to a halt as they arrived at the front room. It was strangely eerie without Nygus at her usual spot behind the desk but in this case her absence was a good thing because the teens used it for cover as they inched their way closer to the containment door.

"Watch my back," the white haired boy instructed as he bolted out from behind the desk to unlock the exit.

Maka's heart fell to her stomach when Soul exposed himself to the open. Following his orders she kept a sharp lookout for any people; letting out a deep breath of relief when the lock had finally been opened and no one came.

Soul then motioned for her to run out and on shaky legs she did, disappearing through the entryway with a rush of adrenaline.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Death City was larger than most metropolises. It was split into five sections: North, South, East, West and Central. The Death City Mental Institution for Troubled Teens was located on the outskirts of the Northern side but it was close enough that Maka and Soul, who were traveling by foot, would only have to walk about 20 minutes until they reached the heart of the albino's hometown.

The two of them strolled down the highway, sticking close to the guardrail where they would be safe from passing cars. It was a lovely night, clear and crisp, and Maka savored it all. Breathing in the fresh air she had given up when she had been admitted to the hospital.

"It's nice to get out every once in a while," Soul said to her. "To be back in reality."

Maka nodded in agreement as the city became closer; its steely skyscrapers growing taller and its lights brighter.

"Have you ever been to the North before?" he asked her, noticing how intently she watched the buildings.

"Only a few times, but I was little then," she answered.

Soul grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "Well I'm going to give you the full experience," he promised. "But first we need to make a little detour."

"To where exactly?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I left something important at home."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The Evan's mansion was so extravagant it didn't seem real. The neatly trimmed gardens out front overflowing with roses, the stone fountain in the center of the driveway, the high iron gates surrounding the perimeter…Maka couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"You live _here_?" she asked, trying not to gape. It was the kind of home every little girl fantasized about. What they doodled with their crayons during art class; scribbling big windows and grand staircases, a crystal chandelier hanging from above. Hoping that one day they'd marry a prince and move there.

Soul rolled his eyes at his friend's reaction. "It's not like it's a surprise or anything. You knew my family was rich before we got here."

"Yeah, but I didn't know you were _that_ rich," the pigtailed girl said as she continued to stare at the enormous house.

"Okay, okay enough drooling over my mansion," he said, turning her around. "Right now I need you to hide behind those bushes."

"Why?"

"There's a light on in my parent's bedroom," he said, pointing towards the house. "They're home right now and it'd be too risky to sneak you in with me."

"Sooo you just want me to wait here until you get whatever you came for?" Maka asked.

"Exactly," he nodded, walking over to the front gate and punching some numbers onto the keyboard that was attached to it. "It won't take long so don't worry."

And then the grand gate opened its mouth and swallowed him whole. Not spitting him out until he had returned minutes later pushing an orange and yellow two-seater cruising motorcycle with his hands.

"Is that…are we…?" Maka asked, her mouth going dry at the sight of it.

The white haired boy opened up the bike's seat and pulled out two helmets. "Yep," he said matter-of-factly, as he fastened his onto his head.

"Oh god…you're insane if you think I'm getting on that thing," she said, backing away.

Soul tossed her the helmet anyway. "You'll be fine."

"I'm not sure…is it safe," she asked cagily.

"If you fall off you can Maka chop me however many times you want."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Soul, I'm serious."

He gave her a comforting smile. "It'll be cool."

The blonde sucked in some air and took a nervous step forward as the ruby eyed boy started up the engine. She felt a shiver of fear and excitement run down her spine when the bike let out a loud rumble and smoke blew out the exhaust pipe. She didn't think it possible that a person could experience so many outrageous things in the course of an hour, but yet it was happening. After carefully seating herself on the back of the cycle and tightening the straps of the protective head gear she clung onto Soul's waist for dear life.

"Maka…?"

"Yes?" she squeaked, her emerald eyes squeezed shut.

"Um, we haven't even moved yet."

"We haven't?"

"No."

"Oh…"

Soul laughed. "Don't be scared, you'll love this."

"I feel sick already," she complained.

"Just hold on tight," he said, pushing back the kickstand.

Maka opened her mouth to say something more but her words were lost in the wind as the motorcycle zoomed forward; becoming a mere streak on the highway.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The ride had only lasted a few minutes but to Maka it felt like hours. Every time Soul made a turn or ran over a bump the blonde saw her life flash before her eyes. She didn't know why she agreed to get on the back of his bike, as a top student she should've had more sense. But while racing down the freeway on a teenager's motorcycle was the most terrifying thing she had ever done it was also the most exhilarating.

They were now in the busy part of the North City. Neon street signs were aglow and music floated out of club doors, beckoning the young people who walked the streets with their friends to come in and have a good time. Everything was so alive and that's when Maka realized that the world never stopped moving. Even though she had been taken from her everyday life and put into the hospital time didn't slow; all the things that she was seeing right now went on without her.

Suddenly her stomach growled.

"Are you hungry?" Soul asked when they had stopped at a red light. "You haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Food would be nice," Maka nodded.

When the signal switched to green Soul made a sharp turn left onto a busy street and headed towards a cluster of restaurants, not stopping until they were in front DeathBucks, the most popular coffeehouse in town. After locking up the bike the two of them headed inside and were taken by a smiling waitress to a back table next to a window.

"So when did you get a motorcycle anyway?" Maka asked Soul after they had ordered and their server had gone.

"When I was thirteen," he said. "It was a coming home present from my parents."

Maka thought this over before questioning, "So this is an on and off thing then? You being at the hospital?"

"Yeah, this will be my third and longest admittance yet," he told her.

"Why…why do they keep sending you back?"

"The doctor's don't think I'm better yet," he answered.

"But you seem fine. You stopped cutting and you're aware that you suffered from survival's guilt. What's the problem?"

"The demon," the white haired boy sighed. "Everyone still thinks I'm schizophrenic because of it.

"Couldn't you just lie and tell them that it's gone?" the pigtailed girl suggested.

"I'm not going to lie to them," Soul ruled out her idea. "In my opinion I think that I'm a normal kid but if they don't agree then I'm just going have to wait until they do."

The waitress then returned with a burger and coffee for Soul and a chicken wrap and hot chocolate for Maka. After thanking them for their purchase she once again left.

"Don't you feel like you're missing out?" Maka asked as she bit into her wrap, thinking back to the way she had felt when they first entered the city.

"Sometimes," Soul said, really taking her question into consideration. "I definitely don't miss school and the kids here are uncool and not worth my time…but I miss my parents and I feel bad that they haven't really been able to watch me grow up. I feel like I cheated them in some ways…"

Maka stared at her drink, watching the steam rise from the cup and vanish. "I feel cheated all the time."

They sat quietly for a while; the only sounds exchanged between them were the crunches and swallows of their meals. As this went on Maka's eyes traveled to the front door, taking in the sight of more customers pouring into the joint. They were all older than she was; students from the University she supposed. All of them were split into pairs, holding hands and sharing private smiles that were reserved for couples. Suddenly a thought occurred to her, a thought ridiculous enough to fluster her face.

"Uh, Soul…" she said uncertainly.

The albino took a swig of his coffee and looked to her. "Yeah?"

"Are we…um, is this a date?" she asked, turning her head to the side so he couldn't see how embarrassed she was.

"A date?" he repeated.

Maka nodded vigorously, still not looking him in the eyes.

"No," said Soul. "Well…unless you want it to be that is."

Maka whipped her head around to face him, forest green eyes wide in shock. "I, uh…well...W-what?" she heard herself stutter as the blood rose to her cheeks. _'He has to be joking right?' _she thought in disbelief. 'Soul doesn't think about me like that.'

"Anyway," Soul continued on, completely steering the conversation away from the topic they were just discussing. "We're far from the hospital now so do you mind telling me what's been going on? Why you were crying?"

Maka sighed and went on to tell him about the long and depressing story that had happened. When she had finished Soul gave her a kind smile.

"I'm sorry," he said, even though they both knew it wasn't going to change anything.

"Marie says it's for the best," Maka shrugged as she stood up from the table. Over the course of her narrative the two of them had finished their meals and were now ready to head back.

"It may be for the best," Soul said, standing from his chair as well. "But that doesn't mean it won't hurt."

"Soul…"

He hugged her suddenly, his strong arms encircling her tiny waist and holding her close. "Stay strong."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

After retrieving the motorcycle from out front and driving back to the mansion, Soul stealthily slipped the bike back into his garage. The troubled teens then turned their backs on North City and began to go back the way they came from, back to their dorms at the mental institution. Maka found herself smiling at it all, over everything that had happened that night.

"What?" Soul asked when he noticed she was grinning.

"I'm just happy," she replied, gazing up at the Milky Way. "Thanks for everything. Tonight was really cool."

And as they continued to walk underneath the stars moonlight caught in his eyes and she felt herself falling.

**Author's Note: WOW *hugs you all* OKAY YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. I seriously was NOT expecting so many people to review/favorite/follow the last chapter considering how short is was. You guys are just…I love you guys. Your reviews were quite amusing I must say. Everyone though that Soul was going to play the piano for Maka and then there were a few of you perverts (you guys know who you are XD) that thought something lemony was going to go down *turns to Phanny6* Welllll neither of those two things happened but I hope you all like what I wrote instead! See you next time! And I'm sorry if I'm late updating the next couple chapters because midterms are coming up and I need to study badly for geometry *curses all the triangles* Byee! :) **

**P.S. GUYS THEY ARE MAKING A KUROSHITSUJI LIVE ACTION MOVIE! *CRIES AND MAKES WHALE NOISES* I HOPE CIEL IS IN IT BECAUSE SUPPOSEDLY IT TAKES PLACE 130 YEARS AFTER THE MANGA SOOOO EVERYONE CROSS YOUR FINGERS AND PRAY TO THE GODS OF YAOI THAT CIEL MAKES SOME TYPE OF AN APPEARNCE! **


	17. Bittersweet Goodbyes

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 17**

**Bittersweet Goodbyes **

Maka and Soul returned to the hospital a little after midnight carrying the scent of fresh air and the city on their clothes, bringing back some of the outside world to their secluded little institution. The hallways were pitch-black just like they had been the other night when the power was out so they had to proceed to their dormitories with caution, stepping quietly and carefully through the darkness. Maka still couldn't believe all of that had actually happened. That she, the perfect student, had broken such strict rules and snuck out. The blonde felt jolts of excitement go through her as she crept besides Soul down the corridors, she kind of felt like a rebel when she stood next to him…

When she was back in the safety of her room Maka's first instinct was to rush over to Tsubaki and tell her about her night but unfortunately, and not really surprisingly, her roommate was fast asleep. Smiling at the sight of the dark haired girl bundled up in a ton of blankets Maka undid her pigtails and got ready for bed. Communication would simply have to wait until tomorrow and as she settled under the covers Maka realized that that was just fine. Her thoughts were infinite and to gather them all in such a short amount of time didn't seem possible. Letting her eyelids fall shut the blonde was taken away by sleep and the racing of her heart as she replayed her night over and over in her head.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"So you're alive then?"

The words pulled Maka from her dreams. Rolling over and groggily lifting her head up the blonde saw that Tsubaki was already dressed and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"What do you mean?" Maka yawned as she sat upright. Sunlight was starting to seep through the window and crawl across the room; roll call would be held shortly.

"You never came back last night," said Tsubaki. "I was afraid the staff might have caught you or something. Let me tell you, waking up this morning and seeing you in your bed was a _huge_ relief."

"I'm sorry I worried you," Maka apologized as she abandoned her bed to get changed. _'I hope her anxiety didn't act up,' _she thought as she rummaged through the dresser.

"Nah It's fine. As long as you had a good time doing whatever it is that you two were doing."

The shorter girl laughed as she pulled on a fresh pair of clothes. "You won't believe me when I tell you everything."

"Ooh give me the details," Tsubaki practically squealed.

"We…" Maka let out a nervous laugh as she pictured what her roommate's reaction might be. "We uh –"

"Maka, you_ didn't_." Tsubaki's face was paler than usual.

"Huh?" she befuddled.

"You two didn't…you know –"

Her forest green eyes grew in horror when she realized what her friend was saying. "No!" Maka exclaimed in embarrassment, cutting the dark haired girl off. "No way!"

"Are you sure –"

"I'm _positive_."

"So then what happened?" Tsubaki questioned.

"Soul took me to North City," she revealed. "He has a spare thing of keys so we snuck out of the institution."

Her roommate stared blankly at her for a moment. "No seriously what happened?"

"Tsubaki, that's honestly what we did."

"Oh my god…you left the hospital…what was it like outside?" she asked in awestruck.

"Big. Everything seemed a lot taller and brighter and more alive...we're missing so much."

"I know, I know," Tsubaki agreed. "But we can save the sad stuff for another time. Soooo was it, like, a date?"

Maka sighed. "I don't think so…he said it wasn't…"

"You sound disappointed."

She shrugged.

"So you _do_ like him!" The dark haired girl accused with a victorious grin. "BlackStar owes me ten bucks."

"Wait, you made bets on this?!" Maka blushed.

"It was Patti's idea,' Tsubaki nonchalantly handed off the blame.

There was a sudden rap on the door. Stein had arrived for roll call. The two girls headed for the door and upon opening it they came face to face with the metal accessorized man. "Morning," he greeted with a smile, handing each of them their meds. "Nakatsukasa, when you're done here you've been instructed to find either Nygus or Marie."

"Alright," Tsubaki nodded.

And once the medication had been swallowed the teens headed their separate ways, Maka to the mess hall and Tsubaki to the staff.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

There were bags under Soul's eyes. _'I guess the change in his sleeping pattern really got to him,'_ thought Maka as she sat down next to him with her breakfast tray. The back table was lively that morning, the troubled teens all sat conversing pleasantly about symmetry and giraffes and other things that applied to them as normal and everyone, including Liz, seemed to be happy with their food.

"You sleep alright?" Soul asked as he crunched on his toast.

Maka nodded and bit into her bagel. "Yeah but _you_ on the other hand…"

"Yeah I know I look tired," he said, rubbing his eyes so that he would seem more awake. "We all can't have flawless skin like Kid."

"It's because I moisturize," Kid said from across the table. "It's a part of my nightly routine."

"Where's Tsubaki?" Liz asked while she chewed on a stick of bacon. The older Thompson sister, much to everyone's excitement, was making a slow but sure change in her diet. She was starting to eat bigger portions during meal times and her clothes didn't seem as baggy as they used to.

Everyone looked to Maka for an answer; she _was_ Tsubaki's roommate after all.

"Dr. Stein told her to find Nygus and Marie after roll call but that's really all I know," she told them.

"Maybe she was kidnapped by aliens," said Patti, looking over her glass of orange juice with a gleam in her eye.

"_Or_ maybe she's still talking to them," Liz her sister a look that said _'really?'_

"Wait, guys, here she comes!" BlackStar suddenly shouted, his eyes locked on the dining hall door. "Tsubaki!"

At hearing her name being shouted across the cafeteria the dark haired girl turned to the back where her friends sat waiting for her. She grinned and waved and after grabbing a tray from the counter went over to sit with them.

"Where have ya been?" BlackStar asked her as she slid into an open seat.

"Just talking to Nygus and Marie," Tsubaki said, looking down at her tray and smiling.

"Are you in trouble or something?" Patti questioned, poking the dark haired girl's arm with her fork.

"No," she shook her head.

"Patti, she's smiling, she wouldn't be smiling if she were in trouble," said Liz.

"Well why _are _you smiling?" BlackStar wondered.

Tsubaki giggled a bit and looked around the table with excited eyes. "Okay…this might be a lot to take in," she began. "When I heard the news I almost screamed….Thursday…."

Everyone was confused. "What?" the gang asked her to clarify.

"Thursday I'm getting discharged."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"What do you mean by that?" BlackStar asked slowly.

Silence and complete shock fell over the entire table.

"I'm leaving the hospital," Tsubaki said. "Marie and Nygus said I'm better and can go home."

Everyone just stared at her, not knowing what to say and something in Maka began to crumble. The pigtailed teen felt like she was running a race and her lungs weren't getting enough air, that all systems were failing and she was shutting down. She had gotten her hopes up, she realized. Trying to pretend that this day wasn't going to happen. Well, she knew it would happen eventually but she had kept hope in thinking that she wouldn't be around to see it. That she would end up leaving Tsubaki before Tsubaki could leave her. She had built this world at the hospital. She had built up this family for herself, this group of misfits at the back table where everybody always belonged and she had been stupid to think that they could stay that way forever. She didn't want to lose Tsubaki but things didn't go that way. Nothing ever seemed to go her way.

"Thursday's tomorrow," BlackStar finally spoke.

Tsubaki's face, cheerful and bright, began to dim. "I know."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Despite living at the hospital for almost a year it didn't take long to clean out Tsubaki's things. After breakfast the two roomies returned to their dwelling and began to pack everything up, now besides Maka's stuff, the dorm was bare.

"This is weird," Tsubaki said, looking around at what used to be her side of the room. "Who knew it would look so –"

"Empty," Maka finished for her.

"Yeah…"

There was an awkward silence.

"Um well, you have the room to yourself now…" Tsubaki tried to lighten the atmosphere.

"I don't really care about that," said Maka, sitting down on her bed.

Tsubaki joined her and rested her head on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry about this, Maka. I know the timing is bad with us just becoming good friends but –"

"Don't apologize you didn't do anything wrong," the blonde stopped her. "I'm really happy for you. You should be proud of yourself for beating this."

"I am. It took so long but I finally did it."

"I'll miss you," Maka said to her.

"I'll miss you more. I'll miss everyone else too…I spent an entire year with them and now…I just can't believe it's the end. I wish I had more time with all of them."

"Can't you go on Monday?" Maka asked her hopefully. "Ask Nygus or someone to postpone your discharge."

"I asked already," Tsubaki told her. "But apparently the staff had this date planned out with my parents so they won't let me."

"Do you even want to leave?"

"Yes and no," she answered. "Yes because I'm starting to forget things. My school, the faces I've been with since kindergarten, even my own house. It's like you said earlier, Maka, we're missing so much. But…I'm also terrified of leaving. I'm afraid that people will still think I'm strange and that the anxiety will come back…I hope the gang doesn't hate me."

"Why would they hate you?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "It's just that when I told them the news no body looked very happy."

"They're sad that you're leaving."

"Well, I'm sad too but their faces broke my heart. Especially BlackStar…he looked crushed."

"Yeah he's taking it very hard," Maka nodded.

"I feel guilty…" Tsubaki looked down.

"No… I won't hear that," the pigtailed teen shook her head. "Today's your last day and as sucky as it is everyone's just going to have to deal with it. But I won't have you sit here and mope around. You're going out with a bang." Maka sprang up off the bed and started to the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, I'm going to make this your best last day ever."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka and Tsubaki managed to get everyone together, going from dorm to dorm collecting their friends for what they decided to call THE LAST DAY PARTY. But there was one little problem; BlackStar refused to leave his room. "Go away!" he would shout at them when they banged on his electric blue, star colored door. "A God like me doesn't have time for mortals like you!"

"BlackStar, you're being rude," Kid called to him. "Tsubaki really wants you to hang out with her."

"Pleaseeeeeeeee, BlackStar!" Patti sang out.

"He'll come out eventually," Soul told everyone. "I doubt he'll miss saying goodbye to Tsubaki."

"Yeah but he's really stubborn," Tsubaki said. "If he sets his mind to it and says that he won't leave then, well, he's not coming…"

The group turned to Tsubaki who was now just staring absentmindedly at the blue haired boy's door. Maka sighed as she watched her friend's sorrowful expression. She knew how much BlackStar meant to Tsubaki and it was upsetting that he would choose to act childish today of all days; a day when he was what she needed the most.

"Let's forget him for now," Maka said to the dark haired girl. "He just needs some more time to think."

"Yeah," said Liz. "I promise you he'll be out later."

"So, minus BlackStar, you got us all here," Soul smiled. "What do you want to do?"

Tsubaki had no hesitation with her answer. "Let's play truth or dare."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

After a few crazy hours of Truth or Dare, Would You Rather and Hide-and-Go-Seek-Tag the group was hunted down by Sid and sent to the 3:00 group session. As the Troubled Teens filed into the room Maka could see Tsubaki's heart fluttering. _'That's right...this will be her last group session ever,'_ she thought.

Once they were all seated in the circle of chairs Marie came into the middle with Sid and announced, "Alright, guys, tomorrow morning our very own Miss Tsubaki Nakatsukasa will be leaving us."

Everyone began to clap and cheer for the girl of honor and congratulations were passed around.

"Today's session is dedicated to Tsubaki," Sid said. "She's been a part of our family here for almost a year and although we're all very proud that she's getting discharged I know we're also very sad to see her go. So the activity today will be going around in a circle and having each of you say one thing you like about her."

Tsubaki was told to sit in the center and once she had moved Ox, that top student from West High Maka met at her first session, started off the event by saying, "I like how you're so levelheaded."

"You're hot," Kilik went next.

"Nice person," Harvar said.

"You're so pretty," complemented Kim.

Jacqueline copied Kim and said the exact same thing.

Then a bunch of other teens that didn't know Tsubaki very well said things like "you're so sweet." And then finally they had arrived at the gang.

"I like how your face is so symmetrical," began Kid. "How your gorgeous sea blue eyes are aligned at a perfect distance from your nose."

"I love your sense of style," Liz told her.

"You're always so nice to me," said Patti.

"You're pretty cool," Soul grinned.

"You're an amazing friend," Maka finished, giving her soon to be ex-roommate a small smile.

Tsubaki thanked all of them ten times over then stood up to hug Marie.

"Thank you for everything," she said gratefully.

The girl's therapist wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye and returned the embrace. "No. Thank _you_ for giving me the chance to work with an extraordinary young woman like yourself."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

BlackStar still hadn't emerged from his dorm but instead of Tsubaki getting upset over it Maka and everyone else kept her distracted with other activities. Pretty soon they had moved their powwow to Maka and Tsubaki's room; the blonde liked how it didn't seem as lonely when it was filled up with people. The rest of the day the teens just talked, all sprawled across the beds having a heart to heart. The Thompson sisters turned out to have some incredible stories about their childhood in Brooklyn. They had grown up on the streets and had hitched a bus ride to Death City where they were both immediately put into the care of the institution.

"If this is where you've been since you've arrived in the city does that mean you can never leave?" Tsubaki asked them.

"The staff is working to find a foster family in the area for us once we're better," Liz explained.

"So you guys have never been to school then?" Maka asked the sisters.

"Nope," Liz shook her head. "But where do you guys go to school?"

"North High," said Soul.

"South High," answered Maka.

"I go to East High," Tsubaki told everyone.

"I'm homeschooled," said Kid.

"Seriously?" the group looked at him.

"Yeah," the OCD boy nodded, his black and white striped bangs falling in front of his eyes. "My dad got me a tutor because he knows how distracting a school environment would be for me. I mean, just think of all the unbalance."

"So your dad's filthy rich then?" Patti chirped.

Kid chuckled. "My dad's the mayor of Death City."

"_What!?"_ everyone exclaimed.

"Yeah… is that so surprising?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Liz asked.

"I don't know it never came up," he shrugged.

"This means we all live in different parts of the city…" said Tsubaki quietly.

"Yeah, and?" Soul asked her.

"Well, when you guys finally get out of here that means it'll be hard to see each other."

"We can all just take a bus to central and meet up there," Soul told her reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we're not going to forget each other," Maka to her.

"Yeah! You don't just_ forget_ the kids you spent a year in a mental institution with," Patti laughed.

Tsubaki smiled. "You guys are right."

"Well since the mayor's office (my house) is in Central Death City I guess my place will be the designated meeting area," Kid said.

The group excitedly began to nod in agreement and went on to talk about plans to get coffee at DeathBucks once they were all cured. And as they laughed together in the half full dorm Maka smiled and thought that maybe things would be okay for her once Tsubaki left. Because if she had the rest of them, well, things wouldn't be so bad.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

After everyone had returned to their own dorms for curfew the two best friends continued to talk. They ended up pulling an all-nighter, the conversation dying only when the sun overtook the moon. Now trapped in the morning the girls both knew it was time. Anticipation and this bitter taste of sorrow arose and Maka found herself struggling to keep her composure as she and her soon to be ex-roommate exchanged what would be their final words said in the dorm.

"So this is it huh?" Tsubaki chuckled sadly as she sat on her bed for the last time.

Maka nodded. She was perched on her own mattress, arms hugging her knees to her chest. "For now."

"Yeah, we can't forget those coffee plans we made last night," the dark haired girl giggled.

"Exactly."

"….You'll be fine you know," Tsubaki said, standing up and walking over to Maka. "You have Soul and everyone to take care of you."

"I know. I'm not worried."

"Good."

Maka glanced at the clock hung up on the wall. "It's time."

"Well, I guess we should go then," Tsubaki headed towards the door.

The pigtailed girl followed behind her and together they traveled through the corridors to the front room where they found a man standing at the desk talking with Nygus. He was very tall with sleek black hair and pale skin and Maka realized that she didn't need an introduction to know who he was.

Nygus then said something to him and he suddenly turned around, his eyes beginning to water a bit as they fell on Tsubaki. "My little Camellia Blossom," he spoke softly.

Tsubaki smiled, her own eyes starting to get a little teary. "Hi, Dad," she said. And with a running start she threw herself onto him, hugging him fiercely and he returned it with just as much energy.

"Where's Mom and Masamune?" Tsubaki asked him as he began to spin her around.

"They're at home preparing your welcome back lunch," he told her.

"Okay," she laughed, burying her face into his chest.

"I'm very proud of you, Tsubaki. Very proud."

"Thank you."

He set her down. "I already signed all the papers and forms, you ready to go?"

"WAIT!" a girl suddenly shouted.

Tsubaki, her dad, Maka and Nygus all turned to see Patti running at full speed towards them.

"YOU CAN'T GO YET!" the younger Thompson sister threw herself onto Tsubaki and hugged her.

Just then the rest of the gang came sprinting in behind Patti and all ran to hug Tsubaki.

"Damn it!" Kid yelled at her as they all embraced her. "You were about to go weren't you?"

"Tsubaki, I thought we had something special," Liz dramatically joked.

"I-I thought you guys were eating breakfast?" Tsubaki breathed heavily, trying to get her breath back after being affectionately attacked by a group of teenagers.

"You don't think we would have let you go without us saying goodbye right?" Soul asked her. "That's not cool."

"Are these friends of yours, Tsubaki?" Mr. Nakatsukasa asked, curiously looking the group over.

Tsubaki grinned. "Dad, I would like you to meet the kids I've been spending my year with. The girl who walked me here is Maka, she's my roommate and best friend. Those two are Liz and Patti Thompson. That's Kid and that's Soul and…where's BlackStar?"

The energy in the room suddenly deflated, as if the conversation was a balloon and Tsubaki's question just popped it.

"Um well…he's kind of still in his room," Soul said. "He didn't want to come out."

"Oh…" the dark haired girl said, her voice filled with disappointment.

"We're really sorry, Tsubaki," Liz said sympathetically.

"It's fine…I should have known he wouldn't come…"

There was a moment of silence before Tsubaki's dad awkwardly said, "We should get going. Your mother and brother are waiting for you."

Tsubaki nodded and after hugging each of her friends slowly went away with her Father to the exit.

"Good luck out there," Maka told her with a small smile.

"Yeah… I'll see you soon."

And with that she passed through the door and was gone.

**Author's Note: Yeah I know this chapter didn't have a lot of Soul/Maka in it but I hope you liked it anyways! It was a pain to write this because for the past two weeks I've just been studying and taking midterms :P But my tests are finally over and I'm all yours again :) I really hoped you liked it; the entire time I was writing I was just going "Tsubaki nooooooooooooo!" hahaha and BlackStar's such an asshole so he gets no cookies. See ya'll around for chapter 18 XD *throws everyone except BlackStar cookies* Byee guys!**


	18. Matching Scars

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 18**

**Matching Scars**

BlackStar finally slinked out of his room about an hour after Tsubaki's departure. He looked like utter crap. Dark rings hung underneath his eyes, his locks were tangled and he was still dressed in the clothes he wore the previous day. He carried a dejected air about him as he slumped down the hallway; the larger-than-life light in his eyes were dead. The self presumed God was headed to the dining hall; undoubtedly to make up all the meals he had missed, but before he could enter the gang had corned him and Liz had began an interrogation.

"You conceited asshole!" the older Thompson practically snarled as she backed the blue haired boy up against the cafeteria doors. "Why didn't you say goodbye to her?"

BlackStar seemed to shrink; partly because he was depressed and partly because Liz was ten times taller than he was. "What?" he asked her halfheartedly.

"Tsubaki," she snapped. "Her Dad picked her up this morning."

It took BlackStar a few moments to comprehend what she was saying and when it finally registered in his brain he turned ghostly pale. "Wait… you mean she's gone already?"

"Yeah and you could have spent the entire day with her yesterday if you weren't acting like such a baby," Liz scowled. "I mean, what were you so surprised about anyway? This is a rehabilitation hospital, BlackStar, people are going to leave once they're cured."

The blue haired boy gritted his teeth and lashed out, "Shut up! I don't need an anorexic bitch like you to tell a God like me what I already know!"

"BlackStar!" everyone in the group except for Liz gasped, their eyes all wide at what he had just said.

"That was really uncalled for," Kid said, coming to Liz's defense.

But Liz didn't need Kid to stand up for her. She was bulletproof. Growing up she had heard much worse and his words couldn't make a scratch. "Your pathetic insult won't hurt me and it's not going to change anything either," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We were _all _upset about this okay, you weren't the only one. We were all angry and sad but we sucked it up and gave her a really nice last day. We didn't hide out in our rooms and pretend that she didn't exist."

BlackStar punched the doors in frustration, his face steaming red. "I fucked up okay!" he shouted at Liz. "I should have said goodbye and now it's too late, why don't you just rub it in my face some more!?" He then pushed past Liz and the rest of the group and stormed off down the hall.

"I think you were a little too hard on him," Soul said to the older Thompson once BlackStar had disappeared from sight.

Liz tossed her hair back and shrugged. "He needed to hear it. He was acting like a bigger idiot than usual."

The white haired boy sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'll probably have to go talk to him later. See if I can get him to come out of his room."

"I think you should wait on that," Maka said to Soul. "He's obviously overwhelmed right now. You should give him some more time to think."

"Yeah, to think about how he's a total jerk," Patti stuck out her tongue.

"No," Maka shook her head. "You guys need to give him a break. You keep coming down on him and saying that he hurt Tsubaki, and while that's true, Tsubaki hurt him too. He cared about her just as much as she cared about him... I'm not really surprised by his reaction to all of this."

"I get that right now his emotions are blinded by love or whatever but he shouldn't have said that to Liz," Kid said protectively.

"BlackStar's mouth doesn't have a filter," Soul said. "We all know that."

"Yeah, it's fine, Kid," Liz reassured him. "Don't worry about it."

"Maybe a giraffe will fall on his head," Patti piped. "That'll set him straight!"

"No giraffes will be falling, Patti," Maka told her. "He just needs more time to sort everything out."

"Well, I hope your right," Liz said, beginning to walk off. "Because if he doesn't snap out of it soon things are just going to get a hell of a lot more depressing around here."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka was sitting pretzel style in Marie's leather patient chair, completely spaced out only minutes into their session. She was thinking about Tsubaki, if she was home yet and if she missed the hospital already. The teen could hear the therapist talking to her but her voice was dulled down and in the background, barely making a splash in her stream of a thousand thoughts. It was only when Marie said "It's her isn't it?" Maka stepped back into reality.

"Could you say that again?" the pigtailed girl asked sounding a bit airy.

"I said, 'it's her isn't it?' you're not paying attention to me because you're thinking about Tsubaki right?"

Maka blinked. "How did you…?"

"Maka, I may not look it but I'm a highly trained professional," Marie chuckled. "I know when my patients aren't listening to me."

"I'm sorry," the teen apologized. "It's just –"

"You're upset?"

Maka sighed. "I honestly don't know what I'm feeling. I'm really happy for Tsubaki but I also want to punch her... It's only been an hour and I miss her already."

"I know you do," Marie said gently. "Tsubaki was a wonderful friend to you."

"She was my first friend," said Maka. "And now she's gone…"

"There are going to be people you meet in your life who aren't going to stay with you," Marie told her. "Friends come, friends go and the world just keeps on turning…But I wouldn't say that Tsubaki's _gone_, I think that the two of you had the kind of friendship that'll last. You'll see her again, Maka."

"Well, we did promise each other we'd get coffee…"

Marie smiled. "See? It'll be okay. Tsubaki's better and you'll be too. You've made such incredible progress, Maka. One of the fastest recoveries I've ever seen…your own discharge could be right around the corner."

Maka suddenly remembered the date. That the end of the two week program was only a few days away…

"A couple days ago we talked about how my program was going to end, remember?" Maka said.

The therapist nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"And you told me that I could stay longer if I wanted to."

"If your parents agree then yes….actually, speaking of your parents, they called this morning," she revealed.

Maka made a distasteful face and asked, "What did they want?"

"They said that they were sorry again and that they would like to take you out for the day to talk about things," Marie passed on their message.

"Well that's not happening," the teen said resentfully.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Maka, but I think you should talk to them. They're both trying really hard to make things better. I know divorce is a hard thing to deal with but if you don't try to meet them halfway things will only get more complicated."

"I can't," Maka shook her head. "I can't deal with them right now."

"Alright then, I'll call them later to let them know you said no," Marie said, jotting down a note for herself so she wouldn't forget. "Now then, back to talking about your discharge…" the therapist switched the subject. "Even though you might be better I won't be able to let you go until your parents settle everything between them. When it comes to divorces, well, these things could take weeks or months. It's not safe to release you into a stressful environment. If your parents haven't figured out things with custody yet there could be more fighting and you could have a relapse."

"So until they decide where I'm going to stay and all that I can't go?"

"That is correct."

"Okay," Maka said, standing from the patient's chair as the session came to an end.

"Why so curious about leaving all of a sudden?" Marie asked playfully as Maka headed to the door. "I thought you liked it here."

"I do like it here…I just want to make sure I have enough time," the teen told her, stepping out into the hall.

"Enough time for what?"

"Enough time to say goodbye. So I don't leave the way Tsubaki did."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The camellia blossom door hadn't been opened since that morning and now Maka stood before it, finding it almost painful to turn the knob. She didn't want to face that there would be nothing on the other side. Tsubaki wouldn't be waiting for her and she wouldn't be waiting for Tsubaki. She would be alone in an empty room that would feel as foreign to her as it did the first day she had arrived. The teen then began to trace the painted flowers with the tips of her fingers, reminiscing about that day when she had added her name to the door. She had felt so welcomed, that things were falling into place as she signed MAKA in that blue marker. But then her eyes fell on Tsubaki's name and the memory was taken over by sadness.

"It'll be alright," she said out loud, trying to reassure herself. And then, gathering her courage, she entered.

The dorm was definitely bigger than it had been that morning. Tsubaki and her belongings were long gone, vanished like she had never even lived there and although Maka knew it was coming it still hit her hard. Attempting to suppress her loneliness the teen pulled the MAKA NOTE from its hiding spot and sat down on the bed to write in it. Flipping to the next blank sheet she began to pour her soul onto the pages.

_Tsubaki's gone. She was released from the hospital this morning and now I no longer have a roommate…It's funny how you can be so happy for someone but at the same time wish for nothing but their failure. I wanted her to get better…but I didn't want her to leave me. I'd feel like a selfish person but I don't because that's human nature; we're always wanting what we can't have, always asking for more than what we've been given…I'm going to get better. I'm going to be healed and I'll get out of here just like Tsubaki did. I have depression. This I can accept now. But I don't want it to control my life any longer. I'll fight it, the cutting, I'll be a survivor like Soul._

Maka stopped writing and rolled up her sleeves, exposing the slashes on her skin. 'Raw' was the word that first came to her mind. Her arms and wrists were so disfigured and red, everything she had been through carved permanently into her body. Tears started to form in her eyes as she recovered the wounds and went back to her entry.

_These are my battle scars. Every mark I've made represents the war I've been fighting against myself. They're ugly…but…they're starting to look better. They're starting to mean something more to me…they're starting to show my strength, my endurance, my hardships through this terrible time. Accepting what I've done to myself and seeing the cuts as something other than my pain proves that I have grown from this experience here. Everyone I've met here has helped me on this journey and I'm pretty sure that'll will soon be coming to an end…the first step will be taking a shower in the morning. _

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

"So you're finally joining us," Liz mused the next day as Maka walked with her and Patti to the Girl's Showers.

"Yep," the pigtailed teen nodded, clutching her towel to her chest. She had been preparing for this since yesterday, for the moment when another human being other than herself would see her scars. She was nervous, wondering if Nygus or whoever supervising her would say something about them. She was nervous, but she wasn't going back. She was determined and she knew that she would have to put herself out there if she wanted to recover.

The trio entered the showers to find that the place was already in full swing. Shower steam hung in the air like a misty veil and the sound of water hitting against the insides of the stalls were constant. Kim and Jacqueline were there and a few other girls whose faces Maka only recognized from the cafeteria and group sessions. They were all just going about their business, having a friendly conversation here and there. And so, after putting their things down on the counter, Maka and the Thompsons went to join it all.

Nygus was the designated adult to watch over the girls that morning. She was sitting on a stool in the corner, a tub of razors were held in her hands. "Hi, girls," the head nurse greeted them as the group walked over. "Razor?"

"Yes please," Liz and Patti both said as they took one.

Maka hesitantly reached for hers. "Thank you."

"It's not a prob– wait…you haven't used a razor here yet have you, Maka?"

"This will be my first time," she answered.

"You know you have to keep the door open while you use one right?"

"I know," Maka told her.

Nygus nodded. "Alright, you can go."

Liz and Patti headed over to the end stalls where there weren't as many people and Maka trailed behind them, the blade feeling strange in her hand after not using one for so long.

"Don't be worried, Maka," Patti bubbled, sensing the unease on her friend's face. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, no one pays any attention to you except for Nygus," Liz told her. "Just shave really fast then call her over. She'll take your razor and then you can close the door."

"Okay," said Maka trustingly as she stepped inside her stall, ready to conquer her fear.

It wasn't that bad she soon found out. With three walls surrounding her the only spot Maka wasn't covered by was the open door. Taking the sisters' advice she quickly stripped down and turned on the hot water. Her heart was racing, her cuts were exposed and yet, no one was looking at her. The only person she saw during her time in the shower was Nygus and the head nurse was sitting at least 20 feet away. Maka realized that this was her chance to shave in a somewhat private environment so sliding the cover off the blade she got down to work.

"Done!" Maka called out after two minutes. She stuck her hand out of the stall so that she could wave over Nygus.

The head nurse walked over to her. She made no comments about Maka's chest and no comments about her scars. She just collected the razor and went back to her stool.

As soon as Nygus turned around Maka slammed the door shut, blood rushing through her body. She leaned against one of the stall walls for support; that had been so nerve-racking for her. _'Did she not notice the cuts?'_ the teen wondered. _'Is she not supposed to say anything? Surely she's seen other patients like me; she's definitely used to it.'_ Despite being nervous over what had just happened Maka felt a little more confident. _'Someone's seen my scars…and everything's okay. Everything is going to be okay.' _And as the water poured down and she carried out her regular showering routine she knew that all she had to take care of now was Soul.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"So you wanted to see me?" Soul asked her as he leaned up against the frame of the art and music room door, holding up the note she had slipped onto his dinner tray.

Maka nodded and waved him over. "Come sit."

The albino complied to her request and joined the pigtailed teen on the piano bench, smirking a bit when he noticed she was wearing her plaid skirt again. "I see the skirt has finally made its reappearance."

Maka touched her newly smoothed legs, happy to be back in her normal clothes. "Yeah."

"So did you want to talk to me about something?" he asked. "Your parents or Tsubaki?"

Maka took a deep breath. "No, not them…I wanted to talk about me."

Something flickered across Soul's crimson orbs. "Okay, what is it?"

"Do you remember when you said that you would never make me tell you anything I didn't want to?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Well, I think I'm ready to talk now… about everything."

Soul blinked in surprise. "Maka…are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I'm sure," she said, looking him in the eyes. "I want you to know."

And then she started from the beginning. Telling him about all the fights and the screaming, the cutting and the love affair. About how lonely she was growing up and how she had never made any friends till she became a patient. And as she talked he held her. Holding her hands when she choked up on her words and brushing the hair out of her eyes when they became teary.

"You…you told me that you used to cut your arms and your wrists," Maka said, beginning to roll up her sleeves. "Well, those are the same places that I cut myself…"

And she showed him her scars.

As the white haired boy took in the sight of her shredded skin Maka began to shake, scared of what he would say. "I know they're ugly but –"

"Maka, you're beautiful." Soul suddenly rolled up his own sleeves, exposing wounds that had never faded. "Look…" he said, holding his arms out to her. "We match."

The tears then came and rolled slowly down her cheeks and he, as he said over and over how proud he was of her, embraced her till they stopped.

**Author's Note: Guys your reviews make my heart melt thank you so much for reading! XD And to everyone who made comments about BlackStar yes we can punch him in the face and kick him and tell him to die or to get off his ass and run to the love of his life. You know what? We should just start a club dedicated to how much of a douchebag BlackStar is. It'll be this totally awesome cult and we'll wear epic sweatshirts and feed on the souls of cookies :3**

**Dear ****Anatheil: My family and I are fine after Hurricane Sandy thank you for your concern and its super cool that you're in a GSA too! Oh and I'll ship Kid with either Liz or Patti but I lean towards the Kid/Liz paring because she's more mature. I'm really glad that you like the story idea and the Truth or Dare game and yes I would love to be your friend! :) **

**Dear that one person who didn't put their account name so it just showed up as 'guest': I'm thrilled that you love the story so far and since you were wondering about my gender I shall answer you *takes a dramatic deep breath * I'm a girl. I don't really think it was much of a secret haha I think you can just tell by the way I type lol **

**Dear all you people asking about the cookies: Yes I hide the cookies in my backyard and yes you can have them since you managed to read this far into the story XD**

**Goodbye Friends see you next update! **


	19. Because Love Wins in the End

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 19**

**Because Love Wins in the End**

A week had gone by since that night and Maka's healing was progressing nicely. After showing her injuries to Soul the white haired boy helped her make of a list of all the things she could do instead of cut when things got tough. "It's what I did when I was quitting," Soul had told her as he jotted down the words 'listen to music.' Maka nodded and smiled, grateful to have a companion helping her along on the road to recovery. Her parents had also called a couple times throughout the days and although Maka wasn't ready to talk to them yet she still recorded their messages and listened to them later. The pigtailed teen was doing well; the therapy was working and she was beginning to get control of her life again. But while Maka was benefiting from the hospital's services a certain idiot was rejecting them completely.

BlackStar was_ still_ in a bad mood. A week later and nothing had changed; he had only sunk deeper into the abyss of anguish and self-pity. The staff tried offering him more food during meals and allowed him to pick out the Sunday night movie but the blue haired boy shoved them away. Sid even ended up calling his family, having them come out to visit him in an attempt to get him to cheer up but that didn't work either.

"BlackStar needs to get over this," Soul said to Maka as they were painting one day in arts and crafts.

The blonde nodded in agreement as she rinsed her paintbrush off in a murky cup of water. "I feel bad for him though…we should do something."

The snowy haired boy propped his elbow up on the table and rested his head on his hand. "Yeah, but what?" he asked.

"I don't know," Maka shrugged. "Throw him a party?"

"I thought you were supposed to be an honors student," Soul joked. "He's not going to come to a party, not in this condition anyway."

"Well then maybe– "

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two," a voice suddenly broke in.

The teens both turned and found that Marie standing in back of them. "Hi," they greeted the therapist.

Marie was smiling brightly, her caramel eyes shining. "I know you're kind of painting right now but do you mind coming with me?" she asked giddily.

"Um, no?" Soul answered a bit confused.

"Are you okay?" Maka asked her.

"Me? I'm superb," she beamed. "Now come along." She then rounded up Kid and the Thompsons who were sitting at a different table and after letting Justin know that they were being excused from the activity proceeded to briskly walk them out of the room.

"Do you guys have any idea what's going on?" Kid asked Maka and Soul as the group was ushered down the hallway.

"Not a clue," Soul replied.

"Maybe we're getting a present," tweeted Patti. "Like pet rocks!"

"It's not rocks, Patti," Marie chuckled as they came into the front room.

And the therapist was right. It wasn't rocks, it was much better.

"Hi, guys," Tsubaki grinned.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

There was a moment of silence and numb thoughts; Maka dared not even blink for the fear that the image of the dark haired girl would disappear. The teens were paralyzed, and then they were running.

"Tsubaki!" they exclaimed as they tackled her and the girl let out a laugh Maka didn't realize how much she missed until now.

"Why are you here? When did you come? How long are you staying?" they bombarded her with questions as they hugged her.

"Alright, alright," Marie hushed the group with a smile as she pried them off Tsubaki. "Her parents dropped her off not even a minute ago; give her some air then you can all go sit on the couches and talk."

"Thanks, Marie," Tsubaki giggled as her friends were detached from her body. She then let out a sigh and tilting her head back breathed in deeply. "It's nice to be back," she hummed in content. "And it's great to see you all."

The therapist then took her leave in order to give them privacy and the teens ventured over to the sofas where Tsubaki began to tell them all of her new life.

"My family and I have been spending a lot of time together since I got back," the dark haired girl started. "They've changed a lot since a year ago; I need to get to know them again. Oh and I'm going to school already. I went back a couple days after coming home and it was terrifying. Its soooo big and there's so many people, a lot more than I remembered. I wondered if anyone was going to recognize me or say something like, 'you're that girl who just left school one day and never came back' but no one realized. And, since no one knew me, I got to reinvent myself."

"Oh god, don't tell me you started dressing differently," Liz facepalmed.

"No it's nothing like that," Tsubaki promised with a laugh. "I'm just starting to raise my hand and talk more in class, you know, have more of a presence."

"So you're making friends then?" Maka questioned.

"Yeah this nice group of girls invited me to sit with them during lunch."

"And the work isn't too hard for you?" inquired Kid.

"I'm going to tutoring sessions after school and since I've kept up with most of my work while I was here it shouldn't take very long to get to where everyone else is."

"Are there any cute boys at East High?" Liz prodded, her lips curling into a smirk.

"There's a few," Tsubaki nodded. "I even got asked out on a couple of dates…"

"Already?!" Maka exclaimed. "You just transferred back though!"

"I know," she blushed, looking down at her hands.

"Damn, Tsubaki," Liz mused. "When I get out of here I'm making you my wing girl."

"You didn't say yes to any of them right?" BlackStar's voice suddenly intruded into the conversation.

The whole group turned to see the blue haired boy standing there with a scowl plastered onto his face. Everyone stared at him then looked back at Tsubaki, then at BlackStar and then back at Tsubaki again who was now blushing a darker red than before.

"When did you get here?" she asked him.

"Just now. Marie came into my room and told me that you were back."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough."

The older Thompson sister began to fidget in her seat. "Um, we all forgot earlier but there's something that we need to do," she said awkwardly.

"There is?" Kid asked.

"_Yes_," Liz nodded, standing up from her spot on the couch and motioning for everyone to follow her. "We're going to do this thing but you guys can hang out here while we're gone." She then proceeded to herd her friends out of the front room, leaving Tsubaki and BlackStar alone to talk things over.

Maka trailed behind everyone down the corridor, glad that Liz had come up with a plan to give their friends some space. She assumed that they'd be going to hang out in one of the dorms but suddenly she found herself being pulled back from the group by Soul.

"Soul, what are you–"

"Shh," he silenced her as he snuck her away from the gang. The white haired boy then led her back to the front room and crouched down behind a wall where he'd be hidden.

Maka watched him in puzzlement but when he tried to tug her down so that she'd be concealed as well the pigtailed teen realized what he wanted to do.

"I don't know if we should spy on them," she whispered.

Soul rolled his ruby eyes and whispered back, "They're not going to know. Besides, do you _really_ want to miss this?"

He had a good point. As wrong as it was to invade someone's privacy Maka didn't want to pass up the opportunity to possibly see her best friend get confessed to. So, after smoothing out her skirt, the blonde knelt down and tuned into the conversation with Soul.

"So… you didn't say yes to any of those boys right?" BlackStar asked Tsubaki once again.

"No, of course not," she assured him.

"Good," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "They're not worthy of you."

There was a long pause.

"Look, I know I didn't say goodbye to you," BlackStar continued. "I'm sorry. I was just really upset and I wasn't thinking."

"Its fine," Tsubaki told him gently. "I'm not mad."

"It's not fine, Tsubaki," BlackStar shook his head angrily. "I messed up and you probably think I'm a huge jerk."

"BlackStar, I–" She stopped midsentence and turned away from him in embarrassment. "You look terrible…"

"I haven't been sleeping much since you left," he told her.

"Oh…well–"

"Tsubaki, when I get out of here will you go on a date with me?" BlackStar suddenly blurted.

The dark haired girl whirled back around and looked at him incredulously.

"I don't know how long it'll take for me to get discharged but I'm going to try really hard for you. You'll wait for me won't you?"

Tsubaki's eyes were sparkling as she nodded excitedly. "I waited this long haven't I?"

And as this went on Soul and Maka sat behind the wall grinning like idiots. "Come on," the snowy haired teen nudged Maka. "Let's leave the two lovebirds alone."

They both stood up and stole a quick glance at their friends who were now hugging each other then walked off down the hall.

"Where to now?" Maka asked him. "Should we find the others?"

"Not yet…I've got something I want to show you."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The art and music room had been cleared out; the teens that had been there for the activity that morning were long gone.

"What did you want to show me?" Maka asked curiously.

Soul let out a nervous chuckle as he led her over to the piano. "Uh I kind of wrote a song for you."

Maka's cheeks turned pink at his words. "You did?"

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been working on it while you were out at sessions."

"Soul, I don't know what to say…" Maka said as she tried to gather the right words to express the strange sensation she was feeling in her chest.

"You don't have to say anything." He sat down on the bench and placed his fingers over the keys. "Just listen."

The first time she had heard him play the white haired boy was conducting a dark tune. The notes were low and sharp and full of a painful past that Maka would never be able to fully understand. But this song, her song, was light. The melody was flowing and hanging sweetly in the air. As he played Maka took a seat next to him, watching in fascination as his fingers moved across the instrument. _'This song…this is how we met and everything that's happened up till now,'_ the teen realized as she listened. _'It's beautiful.'_

Suddenly he stopped playing; ending the song with the slam of his hands on the key board.

"Is it over?" Maka questioned, her voice confused.

"No, I just couldn't concentrate anymore…the demon keeps bugging me."

Maka noticed that the crimson in his eyes had darkened. "What's he saying?"

His hands found hers and he intertwined their fingers. "He says…" Soul began in a low voice that made Maka's heart pound. "He's saying I should…" the white haired boy trailed off as he leaned in and closed the distance between them.

Noses brushed against each other and soft lips slid into place. It was gentle and sweet and for the few seconds that it lasted Maka felt as if nothing else in the world mattered. When they parted both of their faces were flushed and their eyes half lidded.

"He wanted you to kiss me?" Maka murmured.

Soul squeezed her hands. "What do you think?"

Maka smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "I really liked the song."

"I'm glad."

They sat together on the bench like that for a while longer, wanting to make the moment last, but in the end they knew that they had to go back to the others.

"Maka," Soul said to her as they were about to leave.

"Yeah?"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to look laidback although the blush on his face betrayed him. "Um, I was wondering, and it'd be really cool if you said yes…do you want to be my girlfriend?"

The pigtailed teen grinned and standing up on her tiptoes stole a kiss from him.

Soul blinked at her boldness. "So…is that a yes?" he asked in a daze.

Maka laughed and walked out the door. "What do you think?"

**Author's Note: Hey Guys! Is everyone okay from the blizzard that just hit? I'm doing alright considering that I still have power and internet, but I might not be able to leave the house for a few days because of all the snow that's blocking the door *nervous laugh* Anyway, I hope you liked this one! I've been waiting to write this chapter for so long XD Tsubaki came back and there was lots of TsuStar and Soma for you guys ;) Thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows and I'll see you all soon!**

**P.S. GUYS THE STORY ISN'T OVER YET! A lot of the reviews I got for the last chapter thought it was over BUT GUYS ITS NOT OVER! IT STILL HAS A FEW MORE CHAPTERS TO GO SO STICK AROUND FOR THEM!**

**P.P.S. Sorry the wait for the Soma kiss took so long! But seriously, they couldn't exactly make out without even knowing each other first. They had to develop a relationship before they could share their awkward first kiss XD **

**Peace, Love, Bread. Byeeee guysss!**


	20. Friendships Old and New

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 20**

**Friendships Old and New**

"You kept my name on the door," Tsubaki pointed out to Maka as they stood in front of the dorm where they had both first met.

"Of course," Maka nodded, turning the knob.

Tsubaki smiled as they entered. "Thanks for that."

It was early in the afternoon and the girls were just returning from lunch. It was nice having the dark haired girl sit at the back table again; everyone all together as they ate, joking and laughing with each other as if nothing had changed. During their meal Tsubaki had given more insight as to what things were like outside of the institution. This was followed by Liz and Patti teasing her about all the guys who had tried to date her and Tsubaki sneaking red faced peeks in BlackStar's direction, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Maka and Soul. The two ex roommates now occupied the camellia blossom dorm, deciding that they wanted some time to themselves after they had downed their meals. Everyone was cool with them separating from the group for a little while. After all, they all knew how much catching up the best friends probably had to do.

"Maybe you should put up some posters or something," Tsubaki suggested as she sat down on what used to be her bed. "The place is still so bare looking."

"Posters of what?" Maka asked as she plopped down beside her.

"I don't know," she scanned the walls in thought. "Cute movie stars? Boy bands?"

Maka laughed. "I don't even think I know any boy bands."

"The girls at my lunch table know at least a dozen," the dark haired girl told her. "They're obsessed! All of them belong to these online fan clubs which are dedicated to stalking them." She shook her head. "It's crazy."

"Hmm," the blonde nodded.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…I'm just glad you're making friends. I'm really happy for you," Maka said sincerely.

"Well, they could never compare to you guys, but thanks," Tsubaki smiled then suddenly broke out into a giggling fit, her cheeks tinted pink.

"Um, you okay?" the pigtailed teen asked although she already knew why her friend was flustered. _'I'm amazed she lasted this long,' _Maka thought. _'I mean, she likes that idiot so much I'm surprised she didn't blurt out the news during lunch.'_

"Far from okay," Tsubaki laughed. "I feel like I'm dreaming."

"What's wrong?" Maka continued to play innocent; she couldn't let Tsubaki know that she and Soul had been spying on her.

"Okay…BlackStar asked me out!" she squealed, bouncing with excitement.

"No way," Maka faked surprise. "That's great!"

Tsubaki blushed giddily. "He said we'll go on our first date after he's discharged and he made me promise to wait for him until then. Of course that won't be a problem; I don't think I could ever date a guy that wasn't him. I just can't believe this is happening I'm so happy, Maka, and I'm rambling aren't I?"

"A bit but its fine," Maka laughed.

"Oh well enough about me," Tsubaki waved it off. "How are things with Soul?"

That was a sudden turn of events.

"Huh?" Maka asked.

"Oh _come_ on, the last time we talked about him you were totally bummed that your little outing wasn't a date," she said, wiggling her eyebrows knowingly. "So has anything happened since then?"

Now it was Maka's turn to blush. "Uh…actually," the blonde started slowly as her mind flickered back to the day's earlier events. "We kind of kissed in the music room…"

"WHAT!?"

"And then he asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Oh my god!" Tsubaki tackled Maka to the bed with a hug. "Please tell me you said yes!"

"I said yes," Maka managed to say as the weight of her friend crushed her.

"This is awesome! I knew from the beginning that you two would end up together…you guys have this connection, I don't know how to explain it but it's there…wait you said the music room…did he play for you!?" Tsubaki rolled off her friend.

"Yeah he wrote me a song," Maka told her as she sat up.

"That's so romantic," the dark haired girl sighed dreamily. "Just think about it. He went from not wanting anyone to hear him to composing a song to confess his feelings."

"Tsubaki, I don't know what to do though. I've never liked anyone like this before and when I accepted his feelings it was kind of in the moment, I didn't have a chance to think it over. I don't know if I can be a good girlfriend since I don't have any dating experience…" Maka fretfully trailed off.

"Maka, don't say that!" Tsubaki scolded. "I don't have any dating experience either but I'm sure we'll both make great girlfriends. Just keep doing what you're doing and be yourself. It worked didn't it?" she winked optimistically. "So what else happened between you two while I was gone?"

Well, there was one certain thing that came to Maka's mind when Tsubaki asked that…but should she tell her? Show her? The teen took a deep breath. Tsubaki deserved to know.

Rolling up her sleeves she showed the cuts and waited for her friend's reaction.

After a while Tsubaki spoke quietly, her voice wavering a little. "Maka…I had no idea…"

"Its fine," the blonde said as she covered her wounds back up. "I showed them to Soul a few nights ago... I'm getting used to it, more comfortable. I'm working on getting discharged."

Tsubaki nodded and looked at her supportively. "I'm glad you told me… If you ever need to talk just ask Marie for my phone number. I'll always be there for you."

"Thanks but I don't think I'm going to need it," she told her. "I'm done with cutting. Quitting. Never again."

"You're really strong, Maka," Tsubaki said in admiration.

The pigtailed teen smiled and thought of Soul. _'He helps make me that way.'_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Tsubaki's visit came to an end just before the start of dinner when Mr. and Mrs. Nakatsukasa showed up at the front room to collect her. The couple said they had a lovely outing in North City and announced that they would drop Tsubaki off more often because the drive from the East district was worth it if they could eat more Northern cuisine. After hearing that their daughter had a pleasant stay with her friends and after cheerful farewells were said the family departed and things returned to how they had been before.

The group was soon seated at the their table in the dining room, munching away on their platters of fried chicken when BlackStar suddenly jumped up on the table top and spiritedly announced the news of his confession.

"You should thank me for making everyone leave," Liz told him with a grin. "Congratulations."

"Yeah you finally came to your senses," Kid applauded.

As the group continued to praise BlackStar, expressing their happiness for the newly formed couple, Soul playfully kicked Maka's feet from underneath the table. Flashing his sharp toothed grin he mouthed, "Just wait till they hear about us."

Maka blushed and gave a soft kick back. _'Yeah. That should be interesting.'_

When the meal had come to an end the pigtailed teen retired to her room; worn out from the long day. But before she hit the sack she decided to write a bit in the MAKA NOTE, there was a lot she had to think about after all.

_There's a lot of love in the air today. BlackStar was finally man enough to put aside his pride and tell Tsubaki that he liked her and now their first date is scheduled to be held once he's released from the hospital. I'm really happy for them. They both deserve each other. As for my love life, well…I don't know how it happened it just kind of did. Soul…I don't even know where to begin with him. He wrote a song for me and then he kissed me. It was my first kiss and oh god I was so scared. When he leaned in my brain kind of shut down for a second. Like, I knew what was coming but at the same time I didn't know what was happening at all. The thing about kissing is…in all the books I've read authors go into extensive detail about how the love interest's lips tasted like this and that but the truth is that lips don't taste like anything at all. It's just another person who you happen to really care about's mouth on yours and it doesn't have a flavor…it's just wet…but it's kind of nice. I don't know how long I've felt this way towards Soul. This incident today made me realize for the first time that I've wanted him all along and I just never knew until now. Boyfriends are a foreign concept to me and if it were anyone else I'd be terrified. But, after speaking with Tsubaki about it, for some reason I'm not scared anymore. I can be myself around him and he likes me, scars and all….I wonder if everybody has someone out there waiting for them. A soul mate, a partner. What must it be like to walk the earth not knowing what it's like to love and be loved in return…and what's it like for those who know no kind of friendship at all…?_

And after writing that last thought down Maka drifted off knowing that tomorrow she had a mission to go on. She was going to get Crona out of that room.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka stood outside Crona's simple white door the next afternoon carrying her journal in her arms and a hopeful expression on her face. "Hey, Crona, it's me," she called as she knocked a lucky three times.

A tiny voice sounded from inside. "Maka?" it asked apprehensively.

"Yeah, can I come in?"

The door slowly creaked open. "What do you want?" Crona asked.

The blonde shrugged. "I thought we could hang out."

He opened the door wider. "Hang out?"

"Yeah, hang out," she smiled.

"I don't know what you mean by that…"

"You know, talking, playing games, other things that friends do," Maka said as she walked in. She held up her MAKA NOTE. "We could even write some poetry if you want."

"Poetry?"

"Yeah," she nodded, taking a seat on his bed. "I like to write poems. It helps me express myself. You wanna try to make one?"

"Um…" Crona began, awkwardly sitting next to her. "I've never written a poem before…it'll probably be really bad."

"There's no _wrong_ way to write a poem. Just write down your feelings," Maka said, handing him her notebook and a pen she had brought along.

The boy stared blankly at the journal for a few moments before hesitantly touching the writing tool to the paper. He tentatively began to write, his print messy and small, the letters seemed to blur together on the page. He would pause every now and then to carefully consider his words and then he'd scratch them out and rewrite them anew. Maka smiled as she watched him; eventually he eased into it and seemed kind of comfortable. He looked like he was having fun.

A little while later Crona gave the MAKA NOTE back. "I'm done," he said bashfully.

"That's great! Can I read it?"

He brought his knees to his chest and hugged them. "I-I don't know…I guess you can," he gave her permission.

Maka began to decode the muddled handwriting, the jumbled marks slowly forming into words. She read carefully, not wanting to overlook a single thing; she was getting the rare chance to see what went on in Crona's mind…and it was terrifying and dark…and worst of all lonely.

"Wow…" Maka began once she had finished the poem. "That was…I feel sad now."

"I just wrote what I was feeling… like you told me to," Crona said.

Maka gave him a heartbreaking look. How could one person carry that much sadness in them? The pain must be unbearable.

"Crona…I want you to meet my friends, the other kids who live here," Maka said to him. "I don't want you to live this way anymore."

"N-no." He sounded scared, his eyes began to fill with panic. "I don't know how to deal with other people. Just you and Marie."

The pigtailed teen held up the notebook and pointed to it. "I know you're scared, Crona. I just read how you feel. I know that people have hurt you but not everybody is like that. You shouldn't be alone. No one should be alone…people need other people…they'll go crazy if they spend their lives in hiding."

Crona started to tear up. "I don't want to; please don't make me," he choked on his words.

"It'll be alright–"

"No! I don't want to go…I don't want to go–"

"Shh," Maka said calmly. She hugged the shaking boy and began to soothingly rub his back. "I would never let any of them hurt you. I'll be with you the whole time…can you try it just once?"

"I don't k-know if I c-can," he hiccupped.

"Okay, okay," she said gently. "Not right now, let's get you calmed down first."

She coddled him until the sniffling subsided and his breathing returned to normal. Then, standing up from the bed she offered him her hand. "Ready?" she asked with a smile. "I'll be next to you the whole time. You won't even have to talk that much if you don't want to."

Crona stood uneasily and took it. "O-okay…"

"Don't worry," she said as she led him out the door. "You can trust me."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

They stumbled upon the gang lounging in the T.V. room; their bodies sprawled across the chairs and couches, lazily watching the pictures flash on screen.

"Hey, guys," Maka said loudly, grabbing their attention. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine."

Ungluing their eyes from the television the teens turned to Maka, shocked to see who she had brought along.

"Is that…" Kid began.

"It can't be…" whispered BlackStar.

"Guys, this is Crona," Maka announced cheerily.

The pink haired boy clung to Maka's sleeve, his gray eyes darting anxiously from face to face.

"Say hi," the pigtailed teen encouraged him.

"Uh…h-hello…" he quivered, ducking behind her after he had spoke.

"I didn't think you were real," Liz said with a laugh. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Soul nodded at Crona, a greeting gesture that was supposedly cool. "Hey we met that one time during the power outage. Nice to see you again."

Crona didn't say anything to them. Maka could feel him trembling.

"Your hair…" Patti suddenly spoke, stepping forward with her arm outstretched. "It's so pretty."

Crona flinched as the younger Thompson sister began to stroke the top of his head. "I-I don't know how to deal with girls touching my hair!" he cried.

"Ah! You're SO adorable!" Patti chirped as she engulfed him in a hug. "Let's be great friends okay!"

Crona blushed and swiftly turned to Maka for advice.

"It's okay," she nodded.

"Yeah! You're one of us now, Crona!" BlackStar grinned. "So if anyone gives you a hard time you just come to me and I'll take care of them!"

Everyone began talking to Crona at once, their words all friendly and welcoming. Maka was relieved to see that everything had gone well, better than she expected actually. As the pink haired boy flushed and smiled from all the positive attention he was getting Soul looked to Maka and chuckled.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing…it's just that I didn't think you could get him to come out."

Her lips curled into a smirk. "You shouldn't underestimate me."

He raised a brow. "Is that a threat?"

"Hmm…maybe. We'll see."

"You..uh… wanna get out of here?"

Maka looked at Crona. "I promised I wouldn't leave him alone…"

The two of them observed the pinkette. He was quietly laughing alongside the group to something that Patti had said. Suddenly he caught Maka's eye and waved happily, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Liz then said something and the lot of them went off down the hall, Crona trailing behind them as if they had been friends all along.

Soul took Maka's hand as they watched them run away. "You know…I think he'll be fine."

Maka's response was laughter as they took off sprinting the opposite way.

**Author's Note: Hey guys sorry if this chapter was really lame/poorly written I'm just feeling kind of out of it. It's been a really long two weeks for me and I haven't been feeling myself...homework, having to end my relationship, my parents always talking to me about college and spending all my free time volunteering… *long sigh* it's a lot to handle. Anyway, thank you for the awesome response to the last chapter, I hope that this one (even though its sucky :p ) gets a positive reception as well. Also, a lot of you guys have been sending me reviews about how this story inspires you or is helping you get through a hard time and I just wanted to say that hearing that means a lot to me. **

**Matching Scars, although I had thought about writing it for a long time, never became a reality until what happened to my friend. This fic was just a couple ideas that I had floating around in my brain but they didn't come together until I had experience; until I learned what a tragedy actually was. I was going to scrap this fic before it was published but before I could hit delete I realized that I needed it to heal. As a writer I need to express everything I'm feeling down on paper, it's just not right if I don't. Since his death I've had these thoughts of depression and self harm crowding in my head and writing it all down…turning these feelings into a fanfiction for my favorite anime was just my way of coping. So…when you guys tell me that this story, this story that I wrote to help myself, is helping you…I feel honored….sorry for rambling on, I'll see you all next chapter. **


	21. Stitches Have To Mend

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 21**

**Stitches Have To Mend**

When it came to socializing Crona was quite indecisive. Despite enjoying himself the first time he had met the gang he still had days where he wanted nothing to do with anyone and stayed locked away in his room. "He's still adjusting to you guys," Marie explained when Maka discussed the issue during one of their sessions. "For the moment just be thankful that you actually got him to talk to people." Maka understood what the therapist was saying; from the very beginning she knew that getting Crona help would take time. But still, she liked the pinkette better on the days where he joined in on the fun. The days where he would laugh beside them all, happy in just being.

Putting aside Crona, Maka's own treatment was going well too. The pigtailed teen would think of her family and the urges to cut wouldn't be there. There would be anger and sadness but not the desire to hurt herself. In fact, self harm seemed unimaginable to her now, impossible after everything she had been through at the hospital. Writing diary entries and poems in the MAKA NOTE continued to help her cope with her situation and it was also nice to turn to Soul when she needed comfort. Resting in his arms and breathing in his scent always made her feel safe and wanted.

Soul was one step closer to his discharge too. His headaches were getting better; they came less frequently and for shorter amounts of time. When they walked to breakfast in the morning he would give the blonde updates on it. "I think the demon's stopping because of you," he said one day. "You…I don't know, you soothe it if that makes any sense."

"It makes sense," she had said. And it did because the same thing applied to her. Those horrible nightmares she had been having her first couple weeks stopped all together and the reason _had_ to be because of him. They had a special link that was hard to put into words but they brought out the best in each other and there couldn't have been a pill more powerful for them to take than one another.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Soul," Marie said playfully during a recent meeting. "It's just something I couldn't help but notice."

Their group couldn't help but notice either. It was only three days into their relationship when Liz said, "You two are dating aren't you?"

Everyone at the table grinned and poked fun, Maka blushed and Soul proudly said, "Yeah and she's the coolest girl ever."

And while the word 'cool' wasn't anything deep or extravagant to hear that from Soul meant a lot and it sent her heart racing at speeds she hadn't thought possible. Tsubaki, the next time she had visited, called that feeling love.

Love was a powerful concept; an idea that she had only read about but never experienced for herself. She sought guidance on the subject and found no one better to counsel her than her therapist who she met with rather eagerly that morning.

"Marie," Maka asked while sitting expectantly in the patient's chair. "What does love feel like?"

The older woman brushed a strand of hair back and sighed, "Like you heart's being ripped out of your body."

"Oh...?"

She laughed and waved her hand. "I mean that in a good way, Maka. Love is…all the emotions you have when you find that special someone…it's overwhelming but in the most wonderful way."

"I feel like that all the time now," the teen said.

"Well, you can't help it can you? Soul's a special person."

Maka blushed. "How did you know about that?"

"Word gets around," she winked.

They continued to talk about the crimson eyed boy, how he was a really sweet guy once you got to know him and how lucky Maka was to have found such an understanding match. Maka was glad to have an adult's perspective on things; it reassured her completely and Marie was happy about how open her patient was being with her.

There were now five minutes left in the session, five minutes until Maka was sent out and another teen in. But before she could leave there was something the pigtailed girl had to do. After giving it a lot of thought the teen decided to bring her MAKA NOTE with her to the meeting. She decided that it was time to hand over the journal and let Marie know the truth. Let her know about everything she had felt along the journey to recovery and about how grateful she was to her for helping.

"I have to tell you something," Maka said, slowly opening up the notebook.

"Is that so? I actually have to tell you something too but the boy talk kind of distracted me," Marie laughed. "You can go first."

"Well, I don't exactly have something to tell you it's more like I have something to show you," she started. "Okay, remember when I said I didn't want you to read my poems? Well I was thinking about it and I guess it's alright. I don't mind if you read them."

She handed over the MAKA NOTE.

Marie took it and asked, "Which pages should I read?"

"All of them if you want."

As the seconds ran out on the clock the therapist went from entry to entry, reading and rereading everything that had been written. Mouthing the words as she went along, experiencing what her patient had felt from her earliest days at the institution up till now. And then she was on to the last page that had been marked. There was a poem on it, created from the night before. A poem about everyone Maka had met, about how they impacted her and how she was a better person because of it. By the end the Marie was fighting back tears.

"This is…I'm really happy you showed me these," she said appreciatively. "You've come so far and I'm proud to be a part of this."

Maka nodded. "Thank you, that means a lot."

Marie gave back the journal. "Do you think I could see your scars?"

Maka nodded once again and pulled up her sleeves.

The therapist looked over the rows of cuts. "They'll fade eventually," she said knowingly. "But they'll never completely go away."

"I know that…I can accept what I've done."

"I'm glad you think like that because a lot of people can't."

"So what did you want to tell me?" Maka asked, remembering that Marie had news too.

"Oh, yes…your parents called again today," she informed the teen. "It was about the custody issue."

"What of it?"

"Well, normally these kinds of things take time but because of your mother's position as a lawyer she was able to settle everything quickly with the court," Marie told her. "Your mom said that after presenting the case to the judge it was decided that full custody would be awarded to her. You'll be living with your mom and you'll only have to see your dad when you choose to…what do you think of that?"

Maka took a moment to let everything soak in. "I think that's okay," she finally said. "This _is_ mostly my Papa's fault…he didn't just cheat once, he admitted to having affairs for years. So I'm okay with not seeing his lying, womanizing face. He's probably why their marriage didn't work out in the first place, why they were fighting all the time."

"Well, it's all taken care of now. You don't have to hear them fight ever again," Marie assured her.

"Good, it'll be a nice change."

"Also, because of the divorce being carried out so fast the staff and I had to move up your discharge date," the therapist notified her.

Maka's expression hardened. "When is it?"

"Your mom wants you out by Monday. You have one week."

**Author's Note: I'm sad to say that it's almost the end everyone…There are only two chapters left in Matching Scars. DON'T FREAK OUT THOUGH. IT'S NOT THE END YET. ENJOY THIS WHILE YOU CAN. Okay enough with the sad stuff. I hope you all liked this chapter, I know its short but I think it's a good one. Quality over quantity everyone! And thank you for all the reviews and messages and such about the last chapter, you guys really cheered me up :) *hands out the cookies* I'll see you all soon! **

**P.S. Does anyone here have a tumblr? I want to follow more blogs so I don't go through my dashboard so fast haha my URL is a-mysterious-transfer-student if anyone's interested in following me XD **


	22. Take Care of Yourself

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 22**

**Take Care of Yourself**

Maka left her session with this strange sense of calm, a peaceful smile gracing her face as she made her way down the hall. Through open doors she could see the other teenagers caught up in their activities, reading, painting, talking with one another. Sharing a contagious laughter that made Maka want to laugh too. To her it felt as if everything was starting a new.

As she walked along the corridors she trailed her fingertips across the walls. Savoring the feeling, the moments. She had one week. One week left in this building, one week left with these people. She felt neither happiness or sadness but a feeling in-between, a feeling she couldn't recall ever having before she was admitted to the institution.

She roamed around; passing the mess hall and library, the front room and offices and soon she found herself outside his room, like it was place she was headed all along. The blonde let out a small chuckle, finding it funny how she had ended up going to the person she craved the most. The black and red checkerboard door with the spiraling piano keys that had enticed her on her first day beckoned her to knock and wasting no time she did.

"Yo!" called Soul from inside.

"Hey do you have a minute?" she asked.

"Maka?"

"Yeah."

"Come in," he granted her access.

She entered to find her significant other sprawled across his bed flipping through an old comic book. His snow white hair was disheveled and he had changed back into the sleep clothes he had been wearing before breakfast.

"Planned on having a lazy day?" Maka asked as she walked over to him.

He sat up and gestured to his outfit. "Couldn't you tell?"

She laughed. "Scoot over."

The albino teen complied and made room on the bed. "You know, I was planning on going back to sleep after I finished my comic," he said. "But I'll stay awake if it's for you." Soul fell back onto his pillow and pulled Maka down with him so that the two of them were lying beside each other. "So what's up?"

"I just finished my session," she told him.

"And how'd that go?"

"It was interesting…"

He smirked. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well, Marie told me some stuff about my parents," Maka began. "Their divorce has been taken care of, custody and everything, and I'm going to be living with my mom from now on."

"Is that a good thing?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's good…but now that they've figured everything out I'm going to be discharged soon…"

At these words Soul propped himself up on one elbow, his demeanor turning serious. "How long do you have?"

"A week."

The crimson eyed boy nodded. "Wow, seven days…that's –"

"I know," said Maka. "It's not a lot of time."

"It's still longer than what Tsubaki got," he pointed out. He then began to play with the ends of her pigtails as the room filled with silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. "Are you okay?" he asked her after a while. "I thought you wanted to be discharged, it's what you were working towards."

"I do want to be discharged but at the same time I don't want to leave everything behind. I'm really happy but at the same time…I don't really know how to explain it."

"I know what you're saying," Soul related to her. "I felt the same way during my discharges."

"It's weird isn't it," she mused. "This feeling."

"It takes me by surprise every time."

"Soul…" Maka wondered tentatively. "What will happen to us?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if I leave and we end up never talking again and all of this becomes just a onetime thing?

He frowned. "Why would you say that?

"I don't know, it's just that we both won't be in the hospital anymore and–"

"Maka," he stopped her. "If you think that this building is what's keeping us together then you're _very_ mistaken."

Before the blonde could say anything more he captured her lips with a tender kiss. The way they fit perfectly together, the way their heart beats matched each others speed, he got rid of any doubts that she was having.

"Ouch!" Maka abruptly pulled back. She put a finger to her lip. "Soul, you bit me."

He kissed the wound and apologized for his unnaturally sharp teeth before leaning back in.

But unfortunately the affectionate moment was short-lived because a certain blue haired idiot decided to burst into the albino's dorm at that minute.

"Hey, Soul, wanna come AGH NEVERMIND JUST GO BACK TO DOING WHAT YOU WERE DOING!" BlackStar screamed as he shielded his eyes from the couple.

The teens pulled apart and sat upright, both laughing at their friend's reaction.

"Nah, man, you killed the moment," Soul told him. "So uncool."

"Whatever, I'll just go ask Kid instead," said BlackStar. "I'm gonna pull an epic prank on Sid."

"What prank?" the couple asked simultaneously.

"Haven't decided yet," he shrugged.

"Just don't break another window," Soul advised.

"No promises," BlackStar called over his shoulder as he waltzed away.

Once their friend had gone Soul let out a loud yawn and lying back down nestled into the pillows. "Maka, I'm really tired," he sighed exhaustedly.

"I should go then," the pigtailed teen said, beginning to slide off the bed.

"Wait." He caught her arm. "Stay here with me."

"And sleep?"

"Yeah," he said as if it were obvious.

"I've never taken a morning nap before."

"You should try it," he yawned once again. "It's fun."

"Well, alright," she agreed, kicking off her boots and lying back down next to Soul.

The albino rolled up against her and draped an arm over her side. Conforming to her body as their breathing became in sync.

"You're right, this is kind of nice," Maka said, her eyelids fluttering shut.

"I told you," he smirked faintly.

They lay there for a while like that, neither fully awake or asleep. Just listening to the rise and fall of each other's bodies.

"Maka," Soul murmured sometimes later.

"Yeah?" came her sleepy reply.

"Even if you're gone I'm still going to feel this way."

"Yeah," she smiled as the two of them drifted off to sleep. "Me too."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka and Soul spent the day together, blowing off all group activities and just lollygagging about his dorm. They had all sorts of conversations over the hours ranging from serious to silly and everything in-between. They cuddled, they bantered and Maka would never have guessed that she'd meet a person like him in a mental institution. But now it was time for dinner and it was time to break the news. So deserting the room they made their way to the mess hall.

"Where have you guys been all day?" Liz wagged her brows teasingly when the two of them approached the back table with their trays.

"Chilling," Soul answered as he and Maka sat down next to one another.

"Well you guys missed out," BlackStar said as he stuffed his face. "The prank Kid and I played on Sid was genius."

"What was it?" questioned Maka, a little scared to hear the answer.

"Well," Kid began, carefully setting down his utensils to tell the story. "_I_ wanted to mess up his desk because who can stand an unorganized work area–"

"But that idea sucked," BlackStar cut him off. "So we snuck into the medicine room while Stein was out attempting to flirt with Marie–"

"Stein likes Marie?" Maka interrupted.

"Yeah, where have you been? But that's not the point! So we snuck into the medicine room, stole some laxatives and put them in his coffee."

"BlackStar!" Maka exclaimed in complete shocked. "That's not even funny!"

Soul snorted with amusement and Maka glared at him with disbelief.

"I'm with you, Maka," Liz nodded, coming to the pigtailed girl's side. "That was just mean."

"He's been in the bathroom _forever_," Patti said sadly. "Poor Sid."

Maka rolled her eyes at the male portion of the table as she began to eat her dinner. "Sometimes I wonder," she muttered to no one in particular.

She suddenly felt a presence standing behind her. Turning around as she chewed on a breadstick she found that it was Crona.

Her face lit up. "Are you going to eat with us?" Maka asked him.

The pinkette nodded shyly as he sat down at the table. "This is my first time eating here," he told them.

"Welcome to the dining hall!" Patti cheered, throwing her creamed corn into the air as if it were confetti.

Crona blushed and stuttered a thank you.

"So," Maka said, looking around the table. "Since everybody's here I think it's time I told you all something."

"You're not a natural blonde!?" BlackStar blurted out.

"What? No, I am…I spoke to Marie today and I'm going to be discharged in a week."

"Huh?" everyone except for Soul gasped at once.

"Maka," Crona said her name weakly. "You're leaving?"

She nodded, trying not to let the sadness in the pinkette's voice get to her. "I've finished my treatment…I'm ready to go."

"Where are you going?" Crona asked with quivering lips.

"I'm not sure," she told him. "My mom has full custody over me now…I don't know if we're going to stay in our house or move somewhere new."

"Will you come back and visit like Tsubaki?" Crona asked hopefully.

"Of course I will!" she promised. "I'll try and come back as much as I can."

"I just can't believe you're leaving already," Liz laughed. "Congratulations."

Kid smiled. "I saw how hard you were working for this. Good job, Maka."

Patti clapped her hands and she and BlackStar both chanted, "Hurray for Maka!"

"So," Soul began, pushing away his now empty food tray and standing up from the table. "I'm sure you all know what we have to do now right?"

The teens exchanged knowing grins with one another. "We know," they answered.

Soul chuckled and stuffing his hands into his pockets declared, "We're going to make Maka's last week here really cool."

The group erupted with cheers and jumping up and taking charge of the party BlackStar shouted, "Let's go!" But as he spun on his heels to head for the exit he collided with a deadly force no human or self-proclaimed god ever wanted to mess with.

"You… Put laxatives...In my coffee," Sid growled.

All of the color drained from BlackStar's face as the boy's therapist closed in on him. "I-I-uh," he stammered frantically. "Kid did it too!"

"But it wasn't Kid's idea." Sid took a step closer. "Was it?"

"W-well, uh, Sorry…?"

"I'm sorry too," Sid said through gritted teeth. "For you."

And what came next wasn't the sound of Maka's going away celebration but rather the terrified screams of the blue haired teenager echoing off the cafeteria walls.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

The day after BlackStar served his punishment for pulling was what probably the most idiotic prank ever is when the fun really began. There were a total of five days left in Maka's stay and the gang was determined to make each one better than the last. Chaos ensued and so did the recent complaints of the staff but everything was worth it. Maka couldn't believe how much fun she was having. Late night truth or dares, Basketball (which was actually sort of fun once she finally got the hang of it) and sneaking into Stein's office and reading his man diary to confirm that yes, he did indeed had a thing for Marie were just some of her favorite times. It was moments like these though when Maka felt a bit sad towards her moving out, not wanting things to end. _'They'll get out too,'_ she had to remind herself when she was feeling down. _'The next time we're together we'll all be out of here.'_

Everything wrapped up so quickly and before the teens knew it only one day remained. On that final day the group solemnly walked Maka to what would be her last group session, Soul holding her hand to reassure her.

The chairs were set up in their usual circle and taking their seats Marie and Sid went on to announce Maka's discharge and then proceeded to do that complementing thing that they had done for Tsubaki.

"Maka," Patti went first. "You have treated me and the giraffes very kindly so you will be dearly missed."

"I love how sweet you are," complemented Liz.

"Sometimes you're the only one around here that takes things seriously," Kid told her when it was his turn. "Thank you for that."

"You'll never be as epic as me, the great BlackStar, but I still think you're a person worth knowing," BlackStar said to her.

Then the rest of teens in the room went, saying things about how they'd miss her and that she was nice, and then all that was left to go was Soul.

"Maka," he said, catching her eyes with a look of sincerity. "I've never met anybody that gets me the way you do. I'm really glad you walked into the music room that first day."

Maka felt an overwhelming happiness come over her with everyone of her friend's genuine complements. The fact that she meant something to all of them, that was something she had never had before. She was truly grateful to have found people who saw value in her and helped her realize her own worth for herself.

Marie then hugged her and Sid ruffled her hair. "Good work, kiddo," the boy's therapist grinned.

"I'm so proud of all your accomplishments," Marie told her. "It's been a pleasure knowing you."

"I'm glad I met you too," Maka smiled.

"You know you're welcome to come back anytime you want. Plan some visits with Tsubaki, I'm sure everyone will be thrilled if you two showed up at the same time," Marie laughed.

The pigtailed teen nodded. "You can definitely count on my return."

Marie was about to say something more when BlackStar suddenly shouted, "Hey, Maka, come on!" He had rallied up the gang and they were all waiting by the door for her.

"I'll be there soon," she said to them. "But there's something I have to do first."

She then walked past them to go to the dorm of a certain pink haired boy who hadn't shown up for the session.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Crona, are you in there?" Maka called out as she stood outside his white door. She sighed; this was becoming all too routine. "Crona, what's wrong?"

The door was eventually opened up by a gloomy boy with tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes.

"Why were you crying, Crona?" Maka asked her friend.

The pinkette made some unintelligible noise that Maka couldn't make out.

Putting a comforting arm around him Maka walked him over to the bed and once they were sitting she allowed him to sob into her shoulder. It was such an awful thing. Having to leave and seeing a friend break down just before you go.

"Please tell me what's wrong," Maka gently coaxed.

"W-what if they don't like me anymore?" he wailed.

"Huh?" She had no idea what he was talking about.

"What if when you leave Patti and Kid and everybody won't want to hang out with m-me anymore?"

"Crona, that's crazy," Maka told him. "Why would they not want to hang out with you just because I won't be there? You've hung out together when I wasn't there before."

"I don't know I'm just s-scared," he cried.

"I know you're scared but I just want to let you know how proud I am of you. You made these last two weeks some of my best; just getting to see you smile with the others."

His cries grew louder, more desperate. "I don't want you to leave me here!"

"I said I'd visit. I promised you," she reminded him.

"But I want you to be here _all _the time."

"But that's not possible, Crona. I can't _always _be with you. There's a limit on time and instead of fearing it you need to make the best of it before it runs out," she told him.

"It's not fair."

"I know it's not. I know…but I don't want to see you like this. Do you want my last impression of you to be of you moping?" Maka asked.

"N-no."

"Exactly. So, will you come back with me?"

"Will…will that make you happy?" he sniffled.

"Yes." She stood up from the bed. "Very happy."

"O-okay…I want to make you happy."

Maka took his hand and walked with him to the door. "I want to make you happy too."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

She and Crona returned to the others after her pep talk for what BlackStar dubbed "The Last Supper." It was a lively dinner, a celebration filled with well wishes and excitement over Maka's restored health. The pinkette joined in the festivities too; the confidence booster the pigtailed teen had given him worked wonders. After their plates had been wiped clean they headed to the Thompson's dorm for one last night of silly games and when that had come to an end Soul kissed Maka goodnight before she returned to the camellia blossom dorm and wrote one final entry in her journal.

_I can't believe that this room might belong to someone new in a matter of days. I don't know how long it's been because time ceases to exist here but I feel like I've known this place forever and that tomorrow I'll be parting with an old friend. I wish everyone here the best. I hope Stein finds the courage to ask out Marie. If I remember correctly, it's a bit vague though, on that first day when Marie was telling me about her exes I think that Stein's name came up. Sooo I hope all goes well with that. As for everyone else I'm looking forward to their own discharges so that we may meet up on the outside as planned. I don't know how long it'll take since everyone is so different and therefore their recovery times will be different as well but I hope it's soon. I'm really going to miss this place and everything it's done for me. This hospital brought me so much more than I could have ever hoped for and I'm grateful to Dr. Yumi for making the decision to send me here. I know I'm just blabbing on at this point but for some reason I feel like if I stop writing the end will come sooner. I wish the best to Crona and I hope he stays strong for me and I hope BlackStar's ego deflates a bit so he can finally take Tsubaki on that date. I hope that Kid will ask Liz out soon because they're perfect for each other and I pray that Patti gains some sanity. Soul…well….I don't have to worry about him much because I know that no matter where I go he'll always, _we'll_ always be cool. Goodnight and cheer me on! Tomorrow is a big day. _

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Maka was up before the sun was, sleep failing to reach her. She spent the night tossing and turning over in her bed, no position was acceptable enough to put her down. The excitement of it all, leaving the hospital, seeing her mother again, it was just too unnerving and her mind was unable to rest. And by the time she was feeling a bit drowsy, like she could _possibly_ sleep for a little while, she found that her door was being swung open.

"Hey, you awake?" Soul asked, sitting down on her bed.

Maka groaned and rolled away from him. "No."

Soul yanked off the covers and Maka kicked him off the mattress.

"Give them back, its cold."

"Maka, did you even sleep at all last night?"

The blonde sighed and sat upright. "No."

"Neither did I."

Maka skeptically took in his appearance. He was already dressed, hair brushed, looking like he was ready to take on the world. "It doesn't look that way."

"Well, maybe that's just because I'm used to getting no sleep," he said as he tapped the side of his head, reminding her of a certain demon he had to deal with.

Since resting at this point was useless Maka had no choice but to get up. "Wanna help me pack?" she asked as she hopped out of bed.

"You haven't packed yet?"

"I didn't bring much," she said, going over to dresser and throwing out her clothes.

Soul went to help her, stuffing whatever flew towards him into an empty suitcase.

"You excited?" he asked.

She laughed. "Extremely."

Once the crimson eyed boy zipped everything away he went over to her. "I'm really going to miss you," he said. "I don't know if I can handle all these idiots alone."

"You'll be fine," Maka promised him, smiling as she thought of how chaotic their friends could be. "And I'm going to miss you too, but can you leave?"

The look on Soul's face was priceless. "What?"

Maka giggled and held up the single outfit that hadn't been stashed away. "I need to get dressed, stupid."

The albino's ears went red. "Yeah, I knew that," he lied. He quickly turned to walk out the door. "Don't take too long."

She smiled as he embarrassedly slammed the door shut. "Don't worry, I won't."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

She was all set to go. Armed with her signature plaid skirt, sweater vest and boots Maka Albarn stepped out of the Camellia blossom door one last time, ready to face her destiny.

"Have I ever told you how good you look in a uniform?" Soul asked her as they walked to the front room.

"Just wait until I get my tie back," she told him, slinging her suitcase straps onto her shoulder.

The teens ventured down the corridor to find that the gang was already there waiting for them.

"Maka!" Patti jumped into her arms. "Take care okay?"

"I will, Patti," Maka told her, patting her on the head.

"It's a sad day indeed," Kid then dramatically declared. "Yet a happy one. This time you've spent with us will be truly treasured and– Maka!"

"Um, yeah?"

"Your pigtails, they aren't symmetrical."

Maka chuckled. "You want to fix them don't you?"

"Yes please," the OCD boy nodded as he began to redo her hair.

After she and Liz exchanged a pleasant farewell and BlackStar gave her a bone crushing hug Maka turned to Crona who stood towards the back of the group.

Giving him a small kiss on the cheek she said, "Be good for me okay."

The pinkette's face matched the color of his hair as he blushed and nodded that he would.

Then last but not least there was Soul.

Although they had spent the entire week saying goodbye and sharing affectionate kisses over how much they would miss each other this final moment still took its toll.

"You're going to be great," Soul told her, holding her close. "I'm so proud of you."

Maka had buried her head into his chest, memorizing the way it felt to be held by him. "I'll be back soon."

"And I'll be waiting."

The sound of the front door being opened caused the two to separate. And there stood her mother, lovely and smart as always.

Kami Albarn took in the sight of all the kids that had come to see Maka off. "We've got quite the crowd here," she laughed.

"Maka, is that your mom?" BlackStar asked.

The pigtailed teen nodded and began to introduce everyone.

"Mama, this kid here with the blue hair is BlackStar," Maka began. "He's a self proclaimed god. Those are the Thompson sisters, Liz is the taller and Patti's the shorter. That's Kid, the mayor's son. This pink one is Crona and this last boy here is Soul. He's…uh…"

"I'm her boyfriend," Soul said. "Nice to meet you."

"Boyfriend," Kami repeated like it was some foreign word.

"Yeah, Mama, boyfriend."

"Well, this is some group you got here," Kami chuckled.

"Ms. Albarn," Nygus suddenly called, appearing from down the hall with Marie. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"It's perfectly fine," Kami assured them as they entered the front room. "Maka's just been introducing me to her friends."

"Is that so? Well they're all really close," said Marie with a smile. "A great team if I say so myself."

The adults then exchanged the papers necessary for Maka's release and at last the pigtailed teen's technology and neckties were returned to her.

"You're ready to leave?" Marie asked her once everything had been taken care of.

Maka nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Kami stood waiting by the door. "Come on, Maka."

Maka looked at her friends one last time and grinned. "Thanks for everything."

She and her mother then left the 15-16 containment level and journeyed down the flight of stairs to freedom.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"So that boy Soul," Kami started with a playful edge to her voice as they descended down the steps. "He's actually your boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm," she nodded. "He's handsome in this weird albino sort of way."

They reached the ground level and traveled down the hall, passing the pretty receptionist in the lobby her Papa had flirted with on her first day.

"Are you sure it's a good idea though to have a boyfriend after everything you've just gone through?" Kami asked as they crossed the parking lot to her car. "Boys can be tricky, I would know."

"Not every man is the scum of the earth, Mama," Maka reminded her.

"You're right," she agreed. "Men like your father are the scum of the earth. You're a smart girl, Maka. I trust your judgment…is he a keeper?"

Maka smiled. "Yeah, he's a keeper."

They arrived at the car and Kami unlocked the trunk to put away Maka's suitcases. But before she began to load everything up she turned to her daughter and said, "I know we really didn't get a chance to talk about it…I've been trying to get rid of your father and you've been held up in all these hospitals but, that night, when I found you in the bathroom with those pills…I was so scared."

She paused for a moment to let the words settle with Maka before continuing.

"Maka, I love you. You're the only thing I think I can love anymore. And…And I'm so sorry for everything leading up to that night and everything that happened after. I was so stressed out about the affair and just everything about that awful man and I took my anger out on you. I'll never be able to forgive myself for that. I'm so sorry all of this had to happen. But I'm going to try and make it better and be the mom that you've deserved all along." She threw the suitcases in the car and pulled Maka into her arms. "I love you so much, honey."

Maka waited a moment before returning the embrace, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She somehow knew that these were the words she had been waiting to hear all along.

"I love you too," the teen told her mother.

The two Albarn girls then entered the vehicle, knowing that whatever happened next they would face together.

"So I was thinking," Kami said, starting up the engine. "How about we go get a fancy lunch in celebration of you coming home?"

They pulled out of the lot and drove towards the gates.

"I'd like that." Maka nodded.

"And you have to tell me everything that's happened during your stay," Kami said excitedly. "It seems like you and your friends had a lot of fun."

She smiled. "We definitely did."

"And, Maka."

"Hm?"

"It's good to have you back."

As the car gained speed Maka looked out the window, gazing back at the institution until it vanished from her sight completely. Settling back in her seat she smiled, knowing for a fact that everything was somehow going to be just fine. Knowing that she had said everything she could have to the people she had left behind.

Turning to the front window and looking at the road ahead she grinned, finally satisfied with everything she had coming to her. "It's good to be back."

**Author's Note: AH! JUST ONE MORE TO GO! I'm getting really choked up right now as I'm writing this. I don't want it to end because it's been such an amazing journey but yet there's nothing left to say. I've reached that moment where I've done everything I could have to tell the story... I want to say a few things before I leave you all and go do my homework or some other tedious thing. First of all, I know I say it often but thank you. All of your feedback is inspiring and has given me confidence in myself and this year would have been extremely hard to get through if it weren't you guys, readers new and old, sending in your support. Secondly, *gives you all cookies* and thirdly, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **

**P.S. To the people here who I now follow on tumblr, your blogs are awesome! XD**

**P.P.S. GUYS I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SWIMMING ANIME! JUST THINK ABOUT IT, A **_**FANDOM**_** MADE AN ANIME OVER THE COURSE OF LIKE, TWO DAYS XD**

**P.P.P.S. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SWIMMING ANIME IS THEN YOU NEED TO GO NOW AND FIND IT**

**I'll see you all for the final update! Let's bring this one home guys! :) **


	23. Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

**Hello my lovely readers you are all looking extremely beautiful today! Are you ready for the end of Matching Scars? I sure am. It's time for me to part ways with this story. It's actually kind of funny that the last update happened to land on today, my friend's first anniversary of leaving this world. It still doesn't seem real though. I'm still expecting him to show up one day and laugh and say "Hey, guys, did you miss me? I was here all along."But that's not going to happen no matter how hard anybody wishes... I just miss him so much. I guess in a way this chapter is my last goodbye to him, so I hope this one's the best because he deserves it. Also, I've decided to put this final note at the beginning of the chapter so that when you guys finish it will really, truly be the end. And to those of you who asked I'm very flattered but there will not be a sequel for this story. Everything has been wrapped up and there's nothing left to be said. Thank you so much for everything guys. The reviews, the favorites, the follows. You've made me happier than words can say. I'm so incredibly honored to have such an amazing group of people like you reading this. I hope that I created something important to you all. Now then, I'll let you all read. **

**Matching Scars**

**Chapter 23**

**Epilogue**

Sometimes when she thought it all over Maka Albarn couldn't help but smile. Memories tugging at her lips, curling them slightly upward as nostalgia swallowed her whole. She could clearly picture herself walking the hallways and sitting down with Marie and talking as if it had all happened yesterday. And she would laugh to herself; reflecting on all the things that had been said and done and then thinking of the present and about how much had changed since she had left the hospital.

Southern Death City was no longer her home. About a month after being released into her mother's care the two of them packed their bags and left the house to Spirit, deciding that the beginning of their new life could start with a change in scenery. The search for what Kami called "a suitable home for the recently divorced" lasted for a few days before they found everything that they were looking for in a two bedroom apartment in the East district. It was absolutely perfect, fitting both her and her mother's tastes. The kitchen was updated and the living area was bright and spacious but best of all her new home was only a ten minute walk away from where her best friend lived.

Transferring to Tsubaki's school was chaotic. There was paper work to be done and records to be switched over but when everything settled it was worth it. Maka was now the top student at East High, she had been warmly welcomed into Tsubaki's friend group and she and her friend were now able to see each other whenever they wanted ensuring countless inside jokes and legendary sleepovers.

But even though she was in the outside world now Maka didn't forget where she had came from.

Every other weekend, from breakfast to dinner, the pigtailed teen ventured back to the Death City Mental Institution for Troubled Teens and spent her hours goofing around with the people she had left behind. In her absence many things had changed. The renovation Nygus said the building would be undergoing when she first arrived finally happened and the people were transforming too. Stein and Marie were now in a steady relationship and the gang was maturing greatly.

Liz was at a healthy weight again and was continuing to promote a positive body image by eating properly and Patti was getting the hang of bottling up her excessive amount of energy. They were the next ones to leave a couple months later. Kid's discharge followed shortly after theirs and you'd never believe what happened. After the Thompsons got out they were put into the foster care system like the hospital planned and then Kid, after a few days of begging, convinced his father to adopt them into his family.

The adoption wasn't the kind where the girls would have become Kid's sisters though. Kid's father basically arranged everything so that Liz and Patti would just live in their house and go to school at Central High (which Kid would now be attending since his OCD had become controllable). So it wasn't like Kid and the Thompsons were siblings, it was more of a roommate type thing. Either way the girls were ecstatic. They were a part of a family; something they had only dreamed of having after living for years on the streets. They would have willing gone to live with anybody who would have them but staying with the mayor of Death City in his luxurious mansion at the center of town was definitely a bonus. And Liz was especially lucky being only a few doors down from the boy she had a thing for.

BlackStar eventually returned home too after calming down his ego and getting over that weird obsession he had with transcending god. Nobody really knew when that problem was solved but it might have been when a new teen came to the institution and said that he was an atheist, therefore giving the blue haired boy nothing to surpass. However it happened though everyone was thankful and Tsubaki was extremely thrilled when the two of them finally got to go on their first date.

Crona had become an entirely different person and was scheduled to be released later that year. He had slowly crawled out of his shell and became that outgoing kid Maka always knew he could be. He had began to talk to everyone, making his way into the hearts of staff and teens alike, and he had went on with exploring his writing talents, focusing on motivational poems though instead of depressing ones.

And Soul, well, he got out too a year after Maka had left. The demon had been obliterated with time; the haunting voice that mimicked his brother gradually disappearing from his mind. When she talked to him about it though he was just as confused as she was. He didn't understand why it had suddenly chosen to go away, but it did and he was finally at peace.

The Evans were overjoyed to have their son back again, his mother crying with happiness when Soul told her that it was over for good this time. They then had one of those important family talks and Soul finally made it known to them that he loved the piano and wanted to keep playing but he didn't want to be compared to Wes. From there everything just spilled out. Everything Soul had seen and felt during the long road to recovery. And as this went on his parents sat and listened, supporting him with comforting words when it was too painful for him to speak. The three of them got to know each other all over again that day and made a promise to become a stronger family for one another. And then Soul revealed to them that the most helpful meds of all had been a certain green eyed girl who had a knack for books and knowledge.

Maka had been extremely nervous when she first met Soul's parents. They were both so elegant and carried themselves in a way that just made you admire them. When they all sat down together for dinner Soul grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "They'll like you," he whispered. "Don't worry." But he was wrong. Mr. and Mrs. Evans _loved_ her. They found her a most charming and accomplished young lady and as soon as the meal was over they found themselves inviting her over for week next.

As their relationship progressed the admiration his parents had for his girlfriend had yet to cease. "When are you two getting married?" or "I think you should invite Maka over today, we haven't seen her in a while," were just some of the comments that were made. And though these remarks embarrassed Soul deeply he was secretly pleased that they saw everything that Maka was worth and Maka was flattered by how easily they had accepted her into their family despite meeting their son in a psyche ward.

Yeah, a lot had happened in the two years after the teen had been discharged.

She was now walking down the bustling sidewalk of Northern Death City, a crisp autumn breeze rustling her skirt as she traveled. Halloween was right around the corner and you could just feel the excitement stirring in the air. Civilians were hanging festive decorations about the buildings and fat pumpkins were being placed on every doorstep. The teen let a smile play at her lips as she took everything in. The smells and the colors of the changing season as she passed them by; she knew now what they were worth.

Maka was headed to DeathBucks, the infamous coffeehouse where she and Soul (even though he denied it being one) had gone on their first date. Once the gang (excluding Crona) had all been released they followed through on their plans to meet up at the café. This wasn't the first time they had all gotten together like this though; it had actually become a regular thing. On Fridays after school when everyone was available they'd all get bused in to the North district and hang out.

As Maka turned the corner she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket.

"Hello?" she answered as she continued down the walkway.

"Maka, we all agreed to meet at 5:00 and it is now 5:15," an impatient voice scolded her.

"Relax, Kid," she laughed into the phone as she strolled through the doors of the restaurant. "I'm right here."

Clicking off the device Maka cruised through the crowded café to where her friends were seated. They had gotten their usual table right at the rear of the restaurant; they had all decided on sitting in the back because some things just never change.

"Maka!" exclaimed Kid, relieved that she had showed.

"Hiya, Maka!" Patti chirped.

"Sup," BlackStar greeted her with a nod.

Maka returned the gesture and smiled when she noticed that the blue haired boy's arm was currently draped over her best friend's shoulder in an affectionate manor. It was an adorable display of their romance in Maka's opinion.

"Hey, Maka," Tsubaki smiled sweetly at her.

"It's about time you got here," Liz finished off the greeting. "Kid was about to have an episode."

"I was not," Kid declared. "Punctuality is just important to me."

Maka laughed and took a seat in an empty chair next to Tsubaki. "I'm deeply sorry for my late arrival," she apologized to Kid in a mock British accent.

"It's alright," Kid forgave her. "I was just wondering why you didn't come in with Tsubaki like normal."

"I got held up at school tutoring this kid so Tsubaki just took the earlier bus in," Maka explained.

"You're excused then," Kid told her. "If I'm going to penalize anyone for coming late its Soul."

Just then, right on cue the roar of the albino's motorcycle sounded from outside the café and all heads turned to the front window to watch as his yellow and orange bike pulled up against the curb.

"Soul sure knows how to make an entrance," Tsubaki mused as groups of teenage girls hanging out in the restaurant began to swoon at the sight of their friend.

Soul then entered the café, the collar of his leather jacket popped and his steel toed boots clicking upon the tile floor. Excited whispers rippled through the crowd of ogling girls as he stood before them then fell rapidly when he walked right past their tables and planted a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek.

"Sorry, I got held up in traffic," he told them, running a hand through his spiky white hair as he sat down next to Maka.

"It's alright," the pigtailed teen assured him. "I just got here too."

A waitress came to take their orders.

"So how's football going?" Patti asked BlackStar.

The blue haired boy had taken up a sport once he got back to school. His competitiveness and natural athletic ability gave him a great advantage on the field. It was also a good way to keep his energy in check. "I'm up for a scholarship actually," he grinned.

"Dude, no way," Soul's jaw dropped open.

"There are scouts coming to the next game," he told them. "If I make a good impression then college seems to be in my future."

"When's the game I want to go," Tsubaki said.

"We'll all go," Liz told him. "We'll be those obnoxious kids in the stands that cheer so loud other people won't want to sit near us."

BlackStar gladly told them the date and then the conversation moved on to how Patti's bubblegum giraffe sculpture was going to be featured in her school's art show.

This was how these things usually went. They'd all get together for a bite and talk about their lives. Discussing what was currently happening and what was to happen in the future. But they never forgot the past and the place that had all brought them all together.

As things were wrapping up, the bill being paid and the plates being cleared, Soul asked Maka to come back to his house to hang out.

"Can we play video games?" she asked hopefully. He had recently gotten her into Black Ops and she was itching to get her fingers back on a controller.

"Sure," he laughed. "But I'm going to kick your ass."

"I don't know," she said. "I've gotten pretty good since last time."

"You've also improved on Clair de Lune," he pointed out.

Clair de Lune was a piece Soul was teaching her how to play the piano. He was a great instructor; always patient with Maka and her clumsy fingers, guiding her through the sheet music and helping her with the timing of the notes.

The group then left the coffeehouse and stepped outside into the chilly night. After a few more words and laughs were said goodbyes were called and buses were caught. Everyone parting ways until the next time. And Maka fearlessly hopped on the back of Soul's bike, completely trusting and at ease, completely different from the girl who had first sat on it so many months ago.

"Ready?" he asked her.

She fastened her helmet and grabbed onto his waist. "Ready."

The motorcycle came to life and they sped down the street, chasing after the same moon she saw when she first realized that she liked him. And as they rode Maka threw her head back and laughed because this right here was her life and she was happy she wasn't missing it.


End file.
